


An Awkward Adolescence

by FrozenSnares



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Swap, F/M, Long-Distance Friendship, Masturbation, Swearing, Your Name AU, a very scientific and blunt mention of genetalia, and you should definitely go watch it, because, body switching, this fic isn't as good as that movie, this was my attempt at a your name au, which is a super cute and beautifully animated movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:36:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16300820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSnares/pseuds/FrozenSnares
Summary: One cold winter morning, Shireen wakes up to discover that she is in the wrong body and the wrong place. Though it is winter, it should not be this cold. Hundreds of miles away, Rickon discovers that he has the wrong set of body parts and far too much hair. After a day of confusion, Rickon discovers a way to communicate with the person in his body.They work to make these switches as painless and easy as possible for each other. However, they can't figure out how or why any of it is happening in the first place.Written forRickeen Shipweek 2018





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Important shoutout to [valkyrien ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Valkyrien/pseuds/VIII)for suggesting names for this fic and helping me think through the technicalities of it.  
> I tried to fit as many of the prompts into this fic as possible, so see if you can spot them all!
> 
> Follow shipweek shenanigans on my tumblr [frozensnares](http://frozensnares.tumblr.com)

The cold woke her up first. Even though the weather had been stifling last night, Shireen was now seeking out heavier blankets. Someone had put a thicker comforter over her last night, so she made a mental note to thank her dad later. It was still too cold, though. Slowly, she blinked open her eyes.

The room was much darker than usual. It appeared that a storm had blown in, shrouding the entire room. Shireen blinked a few times to get her vision back, reaching over to her bedside table for her phone. Her hand swiped through nothing a few times before she gave up. The alarm would go off soon. She let her eyes close for the last few moments of rest until her phone did its job.

_“CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES. THIS IS MY LAST RESORT. SUFFOCATION. NO BREATHING. DON’T GIVE A FUCK IF I CUT MY ARM BLEEDING.”_

Shireen’s temporary immobilization wore off as a guitar riff tore through the room. Her ears guided her hand to the phone in a snap, and she squeezed its sides to silence the alarm. Taking a few deep breaths, Shireen willed her heart to slow down. High blood pressure in the morning was not on her schedule. Whoever had pulled this prank would get a firm talking-to today.

Dragging the phone closer, Shireen swiped at the screen to get to the alarms. She habitually swiped away all the notifications to get to the alarm one. When she pressed the small button to disable the alarm for the day, it took her to a lock screen. The problem was that it wasn’t  _her_  lock screen. Shireen knew her number combination, but this was a pattern to be swiped on a three by three grid. This was entirely foreign to her. Thinking that she needed to change all of her passwords to prevent any so-called “friends” from attempting this again, Shireen pressed her thumb into the home button. Luckily, the phone unlocked and she was able to dismiss the alarm with a minute to spare.

Shireen groaned and slumped back into the pillows. This was not how she wanted to start her day. With all her upcoming tests, this was just unnecessary stress. Sighing, Shireen pushed herself up and slowly got out of bed. She stumbled on her feet, staggering for a few steps before blindly feeling her way around her room. It was too dark to see anything. She found the window first and pulled open the blinds.

Light flooded the room, blinding her and Shireen shut her eyes tight lifting a hand to block the sun. She slowly opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. There was a good layer of snow outside, reflecting the sunlight and making everything look that much brighter.

With the light Shireen was also able to realize that she was _not_ looking out her window. The glass was wrong. The curtains were a different color. And she had not painted her room a grey so dark it was almost black.

Cautiously stepping away, Shireen looked around the entire room, noting that is was _definitely not hers_. In fact, Shireen was certain that she had never been in this room in her life. Everything also looked strange—like it was too small for her. She reached for the phone and paused her her arm outstretched. Her hands had become _huge_. She flexed her fingers and ran these hands over her arms. The were slim, well-defined, and she wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Shireen ran the hands—she didn’t want to think of them as hers—down her oddly-flat torso. Lacking breasts was new. It would save a lot of money, but she didn’t know what to do with this information.

She froze. If she was lacking all her observable body parts so far that likely meant that _other_  parts had changed as well. Squeezing her eyes shut, Shireen reached for the waistband of her pants and slowly pulled it away. Unfortunately, it confirmed her suspicions: she had a penis.

Looking around, Shireen sought a mirror. She found one over the dresser and rushed to it. Immediately, her hand went to her face. It wasn’t because she was looking at someone else’s face. No, Shireen was preoccupied with the fact that her left cheek was completely smooth. That was new.

But so was everything else. Shireen pressed her hands all over her face, feeling the strange sensation of stubble on her jaw, well-defined cheekbones, and short curly hair. The colors were interesting, too. When she held up a curl to the light, the hair was definitely reddish, but in the mass of it all the overall effect was closer to brown. Her eyes were green now, too. His eyes? She wasn’t sure how to refer to herself anymore. Her consciousness was still fully female, but her body begged to differ. Hopefully, it would be a temporary arrangement.

She looked for the phone again, wondering how much time she had to adjust before she was forced to interact with whoever might be in this house. She had woken with the first alarm, so she was a full two hours before anyone in their right mind would consider setting alarms. It worked in her favor. After all, this was a scientific experiment that she couldn’t pass up.

It was still far too cold, though. Shireen grabbed a set of clothes (the state of the drawers was atrocious, but she’d deal with that later) and sought out a restroom. Luckily, it was the door next to hers, so she minimized the risk of anyone seeing her. Her brief glimpse of the house only proved that dark decorating was not the norm for the owner of the place.

Fiddling with the shower took a while, but Shireen managed to get the water running hot. She waited impatiently to jump in, desperately holding back the urge to pee. She heard that men could have difficulty aiming, and she was not about to ruin someone else’s bathroom. Finally, she stripped down to nothing and hopped in the shower.

It was weird having an appendage to urinate from, but it seemed very convenient for other situations. Shireen attempted to shower regularly, though her bathing habits were likely far from this person’s. Nevertheless, she went through the motions, finding herself running her hands over her chest more than usual.

She attempted to ignore her new sex organ until curiosity got the better of her. After all, she had heard her cousin complain much too loudly about dealing with erections in the morning. She hadn’t had one. Though, nearly having a heart attack from overly loud music was probably a good way to prevent that. Shireen felt super uncomfortable about exploring this body more than necessary. It wasn’t hers. There was an obvious lack of consent going on.

 _But… for science,_ her brain pointed out. This would be the only time she would ever know what it actually felt like to have a male body. If she wrote a note that explained the situation, surely this person would understand. She’d just have to assure them that it wasn’t in any way recreational. It was for science.

Even though she convinced herself that it would be fine, Shireen tried to avoid her biggest curiosity for a long time. She put it off until she had thoroughly washed everything, and was extremely tentative about taking herself in hand.

 _It’s_  my _body if I’m in it. Besides, masturbation is a completely normal aspect of sexuality. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. I am steering this ship._

A part of Shireen had been hoping not to enjoy it. She didn’t want rationale for men acting immature because of a sex drive. If women had to contain themselves, so should men. Shireen wanted it to be a simple experiment and be done. Unfortunately, it seemed that men and women had more in common than she thought. Just like when she was in her own body, it felt nice. Water wasn’t the best lubricant, but Shireen unconsciously found a rhythm to work to. She heard her own deep moans intermixed with her breathing, and she tried to stifle the noise as she brought herself to climax. That sensation was nothing like she had experienced before, and she was left breathless and shaking as she recovered.

Shireen composed herself as she cleaned off herself and the shower before getting out to dry off. She dressed quickly, returning the room she woke up in before anyone else was awake. Being male was nowhere near what she expected from this day, but it was an interesting experience so far.

Flopping onto the bed, Shireen found herself looking forward to the rest of the day in this person’s life. Though, she couldn’t help but wonder, if she was in this person’s body, did they end up in hers?

Shireen ignored that thought, making sure she was sufficiently dressed. She struggled with shoes on feet that were much larger than she was used to, and then she set to looking for information. If she was going to live out this day in this person’s body, she needed to know who he was.

The backpack was completely useless. There was a grand total of one notebook in it, and the bottom was just a thick mess of crumpled papers. She couldn’t even find a pencil. Searching for a school ID was completely useless. Sighing, Shireen gave up the search. It was approaching a reasonable hour, though, so she headed out to try to find some food.

Everything was quiet, which gave her plenty of freedom to explore. The house was decorated with the sort of density she associated with fully lived-in homes. It was nothing her dad could ever accomplish. Shireen went down the stairs, keeping her backpack and jacket from hitting the railing. On her left, she saw the kitchen.

Her stomach gave a loud grumble, and Shireen set her things on a chair at the table before rummaging through cabinets to locate some breakfast. Foreign kitchens were always annoying to her. It seemed that no one could agree on where to put anything. She settled for some cereal, knowing that she’d find milk in the fridge. It took her a long time to find a bowl because it wasn’t in an upper cabinet. Shireen ate slowly looking through the phone for more evidence of who or where she was.

The contacts were entirely useless, save for the humorous ones like “Birthgiver” and “Darth Vader” who she assumed were his parents. “Headquarters” was probably his house phone, but the others were almost entirely made out of emojis.

Switching over to a GPS, Shireen discovered that she had been transported about two thousand miles north to Winterfell. Shireen set a tag on her current location so she could get home later, before browsing through all the available apps.

Nothing was organized. Everything was just out in a random order across several pages, so it took Shireen a long time to find something she was familiar with. Eventually, she opened up Instagram, hoping that the profile would at least have a name attached it to. No such luck. However, there were several posts this person had been tagged in, and the captions led her to believe that she was named Rickon. By zooming into the background of the images, she found that she was likely a student at WPHS. A quick internet search told her that was probably Winter Park High School.

Shireen continued looking through his Instagram. He hadn't posted much, but his friends certainly seemed to be active. Shireen closed the app, looking for something else that would tell her something.

“You’re up early.”

Shireen jumped at the voice. Behind her, a boy in a wheelchair had entered the room. He was rolling around the kitchen with ease, grabbing himself a bowl and spoon. Suddenly, Shireen realized why she found everything in the bottom half of the kitchen. This boy was probably her brother, but she knew nothing about him. She sensed that something would go wrong very quickly.

The boy slid into the seat next to her, pouring a bowl of cereal. He gave her a confused look. “So what’s the occasion?”

Not knowing how to respond, Shireen just shrugged. Apparently, she wasn’t a morning person. Maybe that would sufficiently explain her silence. To give herself more reason for staying quiet, Shireen shoved some cereal in her mouth. They ate in silence until a middle-aged woman with rust-colored hair came into the room.

“I haven’t seen you up this early in ages,” she said, giving her an appraising look. “I can drop you off with your brother, if you’re ready to go.”

Shireen swallowed. “Sure.”

She masked her shock at hearing such a deep voice speaking her thoughts by going to put her dishes in the sink. Her brother was already rolling toward the front door, and Shireen realized that she might be expected to help him into a car. That was a skill set that she definitely didn’t have. To busy herself, Shireen washed the dishes before pulling on her jacket and taking her backpack out to the front. She was beckoned into the front seat, and they took off to school.

“I guess making it to one of three finals on time is better than none,” his mom said. “Maybe if you stay on schedule, you can take your dog on a walk today.”

It was finals week here? Shireen didn’t respond. She was now consumed with questions regarding academic integrity if she took tests for whoever this person was. She didn't even know what class she was supposed to be in. This was certainly a concern. Not to mention she was currently waiting on college acceptances. If they found out, she could be expelled.

She might not be, though. After all, she had never heard of anything like this happening before. That did make sense. She certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone about this. Even if she did, who would believe her?

The good news was that the school looked like a regular school. The bad news was that she didn't have the slightest idea where she was going.

“I’ll see you around, man,” her brother said.

She raised a hand in return. The school was still fairly empty, so Shireen found a bench and went through her backpack with greater interest. Picking up each paper individually, Shireen went through the waste at the bottom of the bag hoping to find a schedule. She found a fraction of one, with a list of room numbers on it. Reading through them, Shireen skimmed the teacher’s names.

“Attention students,” a rough voice called over the PA. “Please remember to report to your fifth period class this morning.”

As the message repeated, Shireen skimmed the list of room numbers, counting five down and hoping she was supposed to be in room fifty-three. The bell rang and Shireen found her way around simply enough, looking for her class.

Students were rushing to their classes, and Shireen found the classroom fairly full by the time she got there. She found an empty seat near the front, and futilely dug around for a pencil. With a sigh, Shireen turned to her neighbor.

“Hey, do you have a pencil I can borrow?” she asked, still unsettled by her deeper voice.

The girl gave her a strange look. Then, she handed over the pencil in her hand. “Sure, Rickon,” she said. “I don’t suppose I’ll be getting that back today?”

“Right when I finish,” Shireen promised.

“Mr. Stark,” the teacher called loudly. He glared down at her through thick glasses. “It’s the first day you show up on time, so of course you’re talking.”

Shireen turned. Everyone was still talking. The bell hadn’t even rang yet. She nearly pointed this out when she thought better of it. If this teacher was going to chew her out for nothing, this Rickon was obviously not well-liked. Shireen glanced over to her neighbor again. Judging from the way she was being blatantly ogled, Shireen realized she was wrong. She was well-liked; it just wasn’t in a way she was used to.

There was a clear name to write now, so Shireen waited patiently for the class to be called to order and for finals to be passed out. She knew this was a science class, she just didn’t know what science it was. She ignored her typical pleasantries when she received her test and skimmed over it. Biology—her intended major. She would make this teacher pay for treating her so horribly.

Before she could forget she wrote “Rickon Stark" as her name at the top of the paper before going through the test. Shireen grinned. This was almost ridiculously easy. School was going to be a breeze.

Other than a few extremely uncomfortable encounters in the hallways, and a few straight-up absurd questions on her part, Shireen got through the school day just fine. She brushed off any offers of hanging out with the excuse that she needed to go walk her dog. It received many odd looks, but it did get her off the hook.

“Come on, man. We’ve got a free in, and you know they keep the good shit inside.” This one was being very persistent, and Shireen wasn’t entirely sure how nice she should be to this kid.

“I told you Rickon wasn’t down for it,” someone else said. Shireen snapped her attention to the voice. It was filled with such pure hatred, she wasn’t sure how anyone could ignore it. The boy in question was unhealthily skinny, with an extremely pale complexion and lanky hair that didn’t appear to have ever seen a shower. “He lost his balls when he almost got caught.”

“He’s just too cool for you,” a girl called out. Shireen turned to see her neighbor from Biology class. “Realized that getting high and hitting on girls wasn’t a great recreational activity.”

The boys laughed loudly at that, and the pale one spoke up again. “You’re welcome to come with us, Lyanna.”

Instead of replying, Lyanna just gave them a look filled with repulsion. Shireen almost laughed. She’d have to learn that one for herself. Lyanna walked off, and Shireen followed before she lost the opportunity.

“You could say thanks, you know,” Lyanna said. “I don’t want to end up on Ramsay’s lists either.”

“Sorry,” Shireen replied. Her voice caught again with her shock. It was weird to hear this deep sound so much.

Lyanna kept on for a while. Then, she turned on Rickon. “So he has one?”

Shireen staggered back. “Has what?”

Lyanna rolled her eyes. “A list, Stark.”

“Oh, um, I don’t know.” What would a list that that boy kept even contain? Shireen definitely didn’t want to find out.

“Covering for him?” Lyanna scoffed. “Maybe you are just spineless.”

Shireen blinked. This was a conversation she didn't know how to navigate, but she didn’t have an escape. Pulling out her phone, Shireen feigned interest in it as she put in some earbuds. Maybe the trick of music would save her as a boy, too. Besides, she needed instructions to get home, and she really didn’t want Rickon to be bullied for needing directions to his own house.

It was enough time that Lyanna had jumped in a car with some friends and drove off. Shireen was content walking home on her own. She always suspected that snow was fun, but she never got the chance to give it a try. The prospects of cold weather had kept her from applying to university up here, so this might be her only chance.

The walk took much longer than Shireen expected. She was glad that it killed so much time, but she was starting to regret it when she remembered that she also had a dog to walk. That’d be interesting. She never had any pets at home.

Setting her backpack down, Shireen scavenged for a snack before locating a leash and finding the dog in question. There ended up being two, napping in a room on the lower floor.

“Okay,” Shireen said, mostly to herself. “Who wants a walk?”

That was not a good sentence to say to a room with two dogs in it, especially since she only had the one leash. Both dogs were also much bigger than Shireen was prepared for. They bounded over to her, pushing her out the door. The black mass of fur nosed at the leash in her hand, and the grey one temporarily disappeared. Shireen struggled to make the dog sit still while she affixed the leash to a collar that was hidden under a mass of fur. Then, the grey one reappeared with a leash between its teeth. It definitely didn’t want to be left out, and Shireen wasn’t about to refuse such a good boy. This was especially true since she didn’t actually know which dog was technically hers.

The grey dog was much more calm, sitting without being asked so she could put the leash on him. Then, Shireen prepared herself to walk two dogs that she didn’t know the names of. Hopefully they wouldn’t get into any trouble.

The walk was pleasant enough. Shireen worried that she’d get lost, but the dogs seemed to know the designated path to take. All she had to do was follow them around and pick up after them. Not a lot work, but she understood why it would become difficult to continue every single day. They led her through a small patch of snowy forest, winding through the trees and smelling at the ground intently.

Breathing in the cold air was refreshing, and it was a nice break from test-taking earlier today. Soon, it’d be dinner time, and she would hopefully be able to keep as quiet until bedtime. She couldn’t wait to wake up in her own body again. Even though this had been a fascinating experiment, Shireen still didn’t know anything about who this Rickon Stark was.

Several messages, snapchats, and direct messages had come in, but she was ignoring them out of respect for this guy’s privacy. She also didn’t want to accidentally read any important information that actually needed a response. Better to let him deal with that when this mess was over.

As expected, Shireen returned to the house with both dogs in tow shortly before dinner. Smells were already wafting through the halls, and the black dog very obviously wanted to investigate. Shireen struggled to keep him still while she took off the leash, but the grey one waited patiently before trotting off. She hoped that one was hers.

“Thanks for walking Summer,” Rickon’s brother called.

“No problem.” Shireen tried to keep her answers trite. She still didn’t know his name or anything to call him. How did brothers communicate?

The brother gave her an odd look before wheeling away. Shireen retrieved the backpack and went back to Rickon’s room. There really wasn’t much of anything she could do.

Now that she was over the shock of simply being here, she needed something to occupy her time. The less she did was probably better, but she couldn't just leave Rickon with no idea of what she had done all day. Walking slowly about the room, Shireen tried to find a pencil and paper. She already knew that there weren’t any supplies in the backpack, but the room couldn’t be devoid of them either. Shireen searched about for five minutes, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth the longer she searched. There was absolutely no organization. It was hopeless. Shireen couldn’t manage this at all. She groaned and began to clean. All the clothes that were out went into a laundry basket. Any papers that were ruined were thrown out. Fixing the bed was simple, and the drawers needed organization, but she could save that for after dinner.

Pulling out the full trash bag, Shireen went down to toss it. She remembered a trash can around the side of the house from when she walked the dogs, but it was much colder now. Shireen quickly completed her task and retreated to the warm inside. Breathing into her hands, Shireen wandered into the kitchen.

“How nice of you to join us,” Rickon’s mother called.

“Sorry,” Shireen said. “I was cleaning.”

“You were doing what now?” the brother asked.

“Bran, hush,” she scolded. “There’s a casserole on the stove, Rickon. Help yourself.”

Shireen went over to serve a plate. The fear of remembering where plates and forks were vanished. Someone has made a stack on the counter. Scooping out a portion of casserole, Shireen saved some space on her plate for salad and a piece of bread. Then, she joined Rickon’s mom and brother at the table. Bran, his name was, stared down at her plate.

“Since when do you eat salad?” he asked.

“Bran, let your brother eat in peace,” their mother said. “And thank you for taking the dogs out.”

Shireen quickly swallowed the bite of casserole she had in her mouth. “No problem,” she said quickly. She piled some more casserole onto her fork and added, “This is really good.”

No one that she knew ever made casserole, but she was thinking of trying it out for her dad. It definitely beat the take out that they usually had because they were both too busy to cook.

“Why, thank you.” There was a small smile on his mother’s face.

Shireen wondered if this behavior was out of the ordinary. It was too late to change anything, though. Her only remaining plan was to leave as soon as she could and get to sleep quickly. She didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t return to her own body soon. Her own finals were next week.

Again, Shireen washed her plate before disappearing back upstairs. She shut herself in the room with no intention of leaving tonight. Brushing her teeth was out of the question: she didn’t know which toothbrush was hers. A trip to the bathroom might be in order, but that was the only exception she would make.

This was more stress than she wanted. Struggling out of her boots, Shireen dug out some suitable pajamas and prepared for bed. The sooner she went to sleep, the better. The phone lit up with a notification. Shireen was going to ignore it, but she recognized the number. It was hers.

Even stranger, the message was just two words: her name.

Shireen unlocked the phone and opened the message, typing back, “Yes?”


	2. Chapter 2

The last thing Rickon expected to wake up to was pain. It felt like his torso was bruised and none of the shifting he did made it any better. Eventually, it became too much, and he pushed himself into a weak plank to see what the problem was. Almost immediately, he fell back to the bed.

Rickon had been expecting to see a smattering of bruises or maybe some cuts from a fight he didn't remember. He was not prepared to discover that he had somehow grown boobs overnight.

Bracing himself, Rickon pushed himself up completely into a sitting position. Distinct bulges on his chest were still there. So naturally, he raised his hands to them. They were much squishier than he thought, but they were soft with a good weight to them. Reaching under his shirt, Rickon let his hands run against the skin of his new endowment. It was incredibly smooth and warm, though the nipples were getting firmer. Smirking, Rickon pulled off his shirt, letting himself get a good look at his chest. It was weird to see his hands feeling himself up. He always assumed the first chest he’d fondle would be someone else’s, but this was good, too.

Though, now that he was thinking of it, those weren't his hands. They were much smaller. It made his new tits feel larger than he expected they were. It was nice to just play around with his rack, and he heard a soft moan. Wondering if anyone else was here, Rickon licked his lips, but all the nice thoughts vanished as he tangled his tongue in hair.

Quickly, Rickon worked on freeing his tongue, shuffling off of the bed to find a bathroom. He blindly left the room and checked doors until he got to one. Pulling the mess of hair from his face, Rickon caught sight of himself in the mirror.

“Holy fuck.” His voice jarred him. It was much higher than he expected, closer to what it had been before his balls dropped. Even so, he never could sound so feminine. Staring at his mouth in the reflection, Rickon said, “This is my voice. Whoa. Weird…”

Combing the hair away, Rickon leaned forward to get a good look at his new face. The thing that struck him from before was the left side. He didn’t know what had happened, but it was all firm, discolored skin. There was a slight pull every time he opened his mouth, and he couldn’t quite raise that eyebrow, but it made his impression of Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson even better. The hair was a mess of black, and he didn’t have the slightest idea on how to fix it.

He tried to run his fingers through it, but they kept getting caught and pulling painfully. Rickon extracted his hands so they could explore his face again. The rough side was staying that way, but the other was very squishy. Rickon kneaded his fingertips into his cheek before his hands slid back down to his boobs.

In the mirror, he could see how red they were from his fondling earlier. Rickon mindlessly kept at it with one hand as he removed the pajama shorts, confirming that he was now dickless. Shrugging, Rickon reached down with his other hand. If he was already feeling himself up, why stop at boobs? It was wet between his legs, slimy and slippery. He couldn’t see anything, though. As much as he liked the tits, they were in the way.

Rickon plopped down on the floor of the bathroom, curling over himself awkwardly to see his vagina. It looked nothing like those pictures from sex ed. Mostly because it was all rather swollen. He had probably given himself a boner from playing with his tits. Except he couldn’t get a boner. So what was it? A lady-boner? Either way, something had to be done.

Leaning back against the wall of the bathroom, Rickon let his hands explore, and there was a lot more to explore than he thought. He slid around all the folds down there, experimentally squishing it around and attempting to stick his fingers in himself. He assumed that if would be fine to put a few in because he knew his dick was wider than a finger, but he ended up with a quick shot of pain. Frowning, Rickon went slowly in with one, tentatively feeling how weird this sensation was. If all girls were this warm and soft and squishy, then sex was going to be fantastic. Rickon continued to play around, finding that the less he consciously thought of what to do, the better everything felt. His hands left wet trails all over his torso especially as he was enjoying his tits. He found a spot to rub that heightened his senses, and Rickon slid down to the bathroom floor making himself come.

It was weird to feel himself squeezing around his fingers. He had apparently been jerking off wrong. If vaginas squeezed, then he should try that for his own climax. He saved that thought for when his dick came back. For now, he was content just lying on the bathroom floor. Rickon was entirely out of breath and exhausted from his playing. He wanted to just lay there forever, but he really needed to pee.

Climbing onto the toilet, Rickon felt the odd sensation of being at the mercy of his flow of pee. He couldn’t control where it was going at all. Sometimes, it would drip sideways into his thighs. Grimacing, Rickon grabbed some toilet paper. He wiped off the best he could before remembering that he also had his hands elsewhere during his previous activities.

Rickon turned on the shower, sorting through the available bath products and giving himself a quick cleaning. The hair got in the way again, staying mostly tangled no matter what he did. It wasn’t until he put a glob of conditioner on it that it smoothed out. He had a hard time keeping his hands off himself, but he finished showering. He grabbed a nearby towel and dried off as best as he could. It was an impossible task. No matter how dry he was, the length of black hair was waiting to get him wet again. Wrapping it poorly in the towel, Rickon left the bathroom naked to return to the other room in search of clothes.

He slid into some underwear and pants easily enough, but Rickon couldn’t figure out how girls managed bras. Not to mention that his hair was making his back wet where his hands were supposed to be hooking it together. Also, the hooks were tiny. How was anyone supposed to do this behind their backs?

Rickon ended up hooking the bra together on his lap and putting it on like a shirt. He had the squeamish sensation of trapping his hair under his bra strap, and then did the same thing with a shirt. Rickon searched about for a sweater just to keep the hair away before trying to decide what to do now. He never expected to get sucked into an episode of _The Twilight Zone_ and just spend the rest of his life female. If this was someone’s way of telling him that he needed to check his privilege, Rickon wanted the receipts. Having Sansa and Arya as sisters always made double-check that he wasn't coming off as a creep.

Maybe, this wasn’t some alternative, warped reality. There was a chance that this wasn’t a _forever_ sort of situation. Maybe he was just in time-out from masculinity. A small switch before he’d go back to being himself. But when would that happen? And if it was a switch… did this body belong to someone else?

“Shit.” Rickon quickly glanced around the room. He was sure that he messed something up. If anything, his timing had never been particularly good. He probably shouldn’t have gone through her clothes. He definitely shouldn’t have masturbated. Rickon froze. If anyone ever found out, he’d be in big trouble, and then his sisters would kill him. “Fuck.”

Pulling his mind away from that, Rickon rummaged around the room, looking for signs of where this girl was supposed to be. Her backpack was extremely organized with all her work in it separated by class. Rickon was looking for something with the name of the school on it when he got distracted by persistent buzzing.

A phone was plugged into the charger on the bedside table with an alarm going off. It was ten in the morning. This girl was probably supposed to be at school. He’d get there late now. It was typical for him, but it didn’t appear to be normal for her. He dismissed the alarms and continued to search for evidence of where he should be when an idea struck him: if he was in this girl’s body, maybe she was in his.

Rickon unlocked the phone with his fingerprint and pulled up a new text message before stopping himself. What if she wasn’t? What if he was just here and he’d go back to normal tomorrow? Maybe his body was doing nothing while he was here?

Clenching his teeth, Rickon resumed his search for evidence. He needed more information before potentially confusing himself. And he needed to figure out what he was going to do today. Buried in the backpack, Rickon found a wallet, and he dug through it for an ID. He read the name slowly. Now, he just needed to figure out how to get Shireen Baratheon to school. The name of the school was clearly printed on the ID, so Rickon unlocked the phone to access the GPS and typed in “Rainwood Academy.” It would take him some time to walk there, but Rickon had nothing better to do, so he zipped up the backpack, found spare keys by the front door, and started on his way.

Since it was long past the early morning, Rickon didn’t encounter much on his way. It was too late to see the traffic of people going to work or kids walking to school. Only occasionally would a car pass by, and Rickon just watched them go, checking the phone for directions occasionally. He spent most of the walk staring at the phone. Rickon swiped through all the pictures (mostly of nature), through the contacts (all with full names), read through a few of the text messages (almost entirely about homework), checked the Twitter feed (entirely news articles), and through Instagram. There, he finally saw that at least the people she was following (the ones who were actually people) had selfies and regular pictures posted. The pictures that this Shireen had posted herself were few, and none had a full picture of her face.

As Rickon walked, he pulled up Snapchat and took a few selfies. It was weird to see someone else’s face contort when he was controlling it, but he really liked the way the left side of her face contributed to the pictures. Rickon saved every picture he took, though he didn’t send any of them. He stopped for a full two minutes just to take a properly close-up picture of the scars before continuing onto school. Rickon was particularly fond of the selfies with the flower crowns, even though it wasn’t his face on them. Maybe he’d take some with his own face later.

Rickon checked that he was at the right school several times before entering. He slowly walked into the front office, looking around for the receptionist.

“Shireen!” The woman in question stood up from her seat and leaned over the counter. “Goodness, dear. Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rickon said. “I just overslept.”

The receptionist looked her up and down. “You're not in uniform.”

Rickon frowned at the thought. “No…” He wasn't sure how to express how he would never be subjected to a uniform. “It's in the wash.”

This got him an odd look, but he could at least play it off. The receptionist twisted her mouth and wrote a slip that she handed to him. “Head out to class, dear.”

Taking the slip, Rickon left the office quickly. He wandered into the quad with no real direction before getting lost. He went to the backpack for answers, thinking that this Shireen was so organized she had likely prepared for this exact scenario. Just inside the massive binder, Rickon found not only her schedule, but a bell schedule and a map of the school. Crossing referencing all of these, Rickon eventually found his way into Braavosi.

“Miss Baratheon, how… pleasant to see you today,” a fairly short man greeted her. He held out his hand, and Rickon gave him the slip of paper. Then, the teacher asked a query in Braavosi.

Rickon smirked. He replied in the language, “ _Sorry for being late. I am not feeling well today._ ”

The teacher gave him an appraising look, and then he gestured to a desk.

Rickon took his seat and received a copy of the day’s assignment. It was all fairly basic Braavosi. Rickon had learned a lot from Arya when she came back from studying abroad. He didn't know it nearly as well as he knew the Old Tongue—his nanny had spoken almost exclusively in the language while she raised him. He picked it up without realizing it.

He just followed his schedule and sat in on classes. Almost no one came up to talk to him, and Rickon didn't know who his friends were supposed to be anyway. He couldn't just go up to people. Instead, Rickon took it slow and observed the pace of this school.

Everyone was dressed identically. A few of the girls had chosen to wear skirts, though it was cool enough that some were in slacks. Rickon was massively entertained by those in scarves, as the weather certainly wasn't a huge concern. There wasn't even snow.

The school itself seemed to cater to an upper-class crowd, and he could see the few trying to climb the social ladder. It wasn't until he started listening that he figured out what was going on.

“It's totally exclusive,” a girl was saying a few feet away. “I mean, if anyone was invited, then what would be the point?”

Rickon watched the girl make eye contact with him before rolling her eyes and turning back to the boy she was trying to persuade.

“We’d love to have you over, though,” she said. “I promised we won’t have any… undesirables there.”

“Dumb bitch,” Rickon muttered. He turned back to his food and took a reasonable bite. Chewing slowly, Rickon watched the popular girl selectively make her way through the crowd. It was like a bouncer at a club, but she was doing all of the work. He was not prepared for the girl to eventually stand in front of him.

“Shireen!” she said. “I haven’t seen you around!”

Rickon did nothing to mask the look of utter confusion from his face.

“My parents are going out this weekend, so I’m having a little get-together at my place… nothing crazy, just a quaint party.” She procured a flyer and held it out. “You’d be more than welcome to come.”

Rickon made no move to grab the paper. He just stared up at this girl. Then, he said the first thing that came to mind. “How dumb do you think I am?”

The girl gaped at him. “Excuse me?”

“Besides,” Rickon went on. “I've seen this movie before, and I’m pretty this small get-together ends with you dumb fucks dumping pig’s blood all over me. So why don’t we just skip to the part where I unleash my satanic witch powers and make everyone disappear.”

Rickon set his face into a satisfied smile even though he had just massively butchered the plot of his favorite movie. Not that this girl knew the difference. She scurried away with a small yelp, leaving Rickon to finish his lunch in peace.

After lunch, Rickon found himself in yet more boring classes where he had to review the structure of Westerosi government, amongst other boring things he was not going to pay attention to. His focus drifted instead, to his peers. He caught quite a number of them with giraffe-neck syndrome, as they tried to look over at his papers (that he wasn’t filling out). A few people were giving him pointed looks and hissing at him. Rickon was incredibly tempted to flip them off, but he didn’t think that Shireen would appreciate that call to the office very much. Instead, Rickon just waited for a genuine interest in himself. Or rather, in Shireen. Something finally happened after school.

A broad boy pulled up to the curb directly before him in a beaten-up car that looked to be on its last leg. He grinned across the passenger’s seat and out the window. “Hey, Shireen,” he called out. “Dad asked me to pick you up for dinner tonight.”

Rickon frowned. “Your dad told you to ask me on a date?”

The boy was taken aback. He shook his head quickly. “No, just to catch up—with the family.”

“Sure.” Rickon pulled open the door and took a seat. He studied the boy next to him. “Who are you again?”

“Okay.” He sounded extremely offended. “I get it. I go to college, and you pretend I don’t exist—" he put on mock voice, “—Hello, lovely to meet you. I'm Devan. Care for dinner with my family tonight?”

Well, he was certainly trying hard. Rickon had to give him that. Rickon put on an aloof look and stared out the window. “I’ve just been having a really rough day.”

Devan shot a look over as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe later.” And with someone else. Rickon knew that there was one proper person to have that conversation with, he just wasn't entirely sure how to reach her. Yet.

Getting to Devan’s house was also much more uncomfortable than Rickon expected. There were hugs exchanged all around, and way too many people were smiling. Rickon quickly fell back to telling everyone he didn’t feel well, and Devan’s mom slipped some pills into his hand. Rickon didn’t know what they were for, but he took them anyway and gave her a quick thanks. For the rest of the night, the woman of the house helped divert conversation away. She even forced Devan to drive Shireen home early. Rickon was extraordinarily grateful. He didn’t know how to handle being there.

The car ride was silent, but Rickon could tell that Devan wanted to continue talking. Rickon had a hunch that SuperMom made him swear to silence. Rickon wasn’t going to question that. He simply gave a short goodbye before heading back into a house that appeared to be empty.

Rickon went straight to the bedroom and locked the door. His head was buzzing from the forced social activity. He couldn’t take any more. He didn’t even know how or why he was here to begin with. Nothing made sense.

Pulling off all the clothes, Rickon relished in the joy of not being constrained by fabric. Then, he pulled on the shirt he woke up in before sliding into bed. He just wanted things to make sense again. Squirming to the edge of the bed, Rickon dug around for the phone. He unlocked it and opened up an empty message. Carefully, Rickon typed in his own phone number. Then, on a whim, he wrote out “Shireen Baratheon?” and sent it.

Just a few moments later, he got a reply. One word long:

_“Yes?”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I tried to do something a little different with the formatting here (and for all text message converstaions in this fic). Though I did label the senders at the beginning of each section and kept them on the same sides throughout the fic, it can get a little confusing.  
> Just remember that Rickon is on the right. Because they both start with Rs.

Rickon:  
Shireen Baratheon?

Shireen:  
Yes? 

Well, that's good at least.

I'm sorry. Who is this?

I'm Rickon Stark, but I just  
spent the day as you.

Oh.

So you're in my body right  
now?

Yup. And you have a dick for  
the first time in your life.

Not as fun as it’s made out  
to be, tbh. 

I know! We got ripped off.

What do you mean?

First, answer me honestly: 

Did you like jacking off? I  
know it’s a completely  
different experience.

I was making a thorough  
investigation of my  
person and surroundings. 

At least we’re even.

I swear it won't happen  
again.

It was for science.

So was mine.

Have you ever heard of  
this happening before? 

Nope. But who's going to  
believe me if I tell them?

I thought the same thing.

Do you think we'll be back  
to normal tomorrow?

I hope so. This is confusing.  
It took me until dinner to  
learn your brother’s name. 

We call him Bran. Others will  
probably visit tomorrow.

Great.

None for you?

Nope. Just my dad.

Haven’t seen him.

At all??

No?

Go tell him goodnight.

Um. No.

That’s weird.

I swear I will find a way to  
hunt you down if you don’t. 

Jeez, woman.

Fine. Where is he?

Take a left out the door  
of my bedroom. Stick to  
that wall until you pass  
two doors. He’ll be in the  
next one.

Fine. Brb

Well that was awkward.

How so?

I don’t even tell my own family  
goodnight.

I gathered that. Not very  
close to them, are you? 

They’ve been treating me like  
shit. Don't really deserve it.

What happened?

I got suspended for something  
I didn’t do.

Go on.

Some dumb fucks got mad that  
I wouldnt go with them to some  
bar, so they planted drugs on  
me to get me suspended. 

Parents wouldn’t even listen to  
my side of the story.

You’re way too young to  
be going to a bar.

How old are you, anyway?

15

You?

Just turned 18. I’m  
graduating this year. 

Good. Your classmates  
are assholes.

What’d they do?

Keep being rude and insulting  
when they knew I could hear  
them.

Then, tried to invite me to a  
party.

You said no?

Fuck that.

Who invited you?

Iono. Some random chick who  
tried to cheat off me later.

I wrote down some bullshit  
answers for her to copy.

You’re going to get me  
in trouble. 

They deserved it. You can  
do better anyway.

Not likely.

Very likely. Besides. I scared  
off that chick

What did you do?

. . . . 

Have you ever seen Carrie?

Not the new one

I haven’t seen either.

You should watch the old  
one. It's really good.

Isn’t it scary?

Uhhhhhhhh maybe?

Yeah. No.

Well, I threatened her with the  
plot of it. Which ends with her  
(you) getting sweet revenge on  
all the assholes you made fun  
of her (you).

Thanks.

What’s my prize in return?

A perfect score on your  
bio test. 

Really?

If your teacher marks you  
down at all, take the test  
to a different teacher and  
ask them to grade it. That  
test is perfect. 

Nice.

You’re welcome.

Anything else I should be  
prepared for?

I'm pretty sure Lyanna  
has a crush on you. 

No way. Did you tap that?

High on my list of things NOT  
to do in someone else’s body. 

So I shouldn’t ask you for  
permission?

You didn’t.

I didn’t.

Good.

I think this Devan guy is  
interested, though.

Gross. He’s like my brother.

Noted.

Lyanna is definitely into you,  
though.

She thinks I’m an idiot.

Well, then she took plenty  
of time to check a certain  
idiot out today. 

No way.

She did. You got options.

Yeah, but who should I actually  
go for?

No one. You're 15. Way too  
young. 

Holy shit. Are you a virgin?

That’s none of your business.

Don't make me google ways  
to check.

You're horrible. And definitely  
a virgin, too. 

What makes you say that?

No condoms.

That just makes me cool.

That just explained why girls  
think you’re an idiot. 

Fine.

Hey, can I post a picture of  
you on instagram?

Ew. No. Why?

I took a few good ones.

And you have 0 pictures of  
your face.

For good reason.

Self-esteem?

You're an asshole.

Okay. Well, I WAS going to say  
that youre pretty, but I take it  
back now.

Good, cause it’s a lie.

Jeez woman. Take the compliment.

What compliment?

I see no compliment.

Hey.

What?

You’re pretty.

Thanks.

...that sounded angry.

How could it /sound/ angry?

This is via text.

That’s just how it sounded.

Thank you.

Still not genuine.

Could you at least show me  
the picture you’re going to post? 

One attachment

See?

The filter? Really?

Hey, if everyone else posts pictures  
with filters, you can, too.

They don't have a monopoly on  
filters, you know.

They also don’t have ugly  
scars to hide. 

One attachment. 

There. No filter.

How many pictures did you  
take? 

I'm gonna post it.

Fine.

See? You like it.

I admit that it is not a  
completely horrendous  
picture. 

#notcompletelyhorrendous

Don't.

#uglyandimproud

I swear I will find a way to  
hurt you 

Calm your tits. I’m not going  
to put a caption.

I don’t exactly have tits  
right now. 

I’ll keep them calm for you.

Gross.

So anything else I should be  
prepared for?

Not really. I just went to class,  
came home, walked your dog,  
cleaned up your room, and  
had dinner.

You walked Shaggy?

Is that his name?

Yeah.

Then yes. I walked the other  
one, too. 

Which one was yours?

The one whos probably sleeping  
outside your door right now.

How did you know?

He does that every night if I don’t  
let him in.

And you don't?

He gets annoying.

How could you? He’s such a  
good boy! 

Meh.

I’m going to steal him.

Good luck training him.

I will.

Sure.

He loves me already.

Because he thinks that your me

Whatever.  
What did Devan want? I  
haven’t seen him in forever. 

He thought you were pretending  
that you forgot about him. Lol.

Why would I do that?

Because he’s at college now.

Oh.

Dude’s got a fuckton of brothers.

You went over.

For dinner. Fucking awkward  
as fuck.

Why?

Didn’t know anyone. And  
they’re huggers.

Hugs are nice

More like suffocating

Sounds like someone needs  
a hug 

Ew. Gross. You did not just  
make my brain think that.

I can make it think other  
things, too. 

I can legally get you tattoos.  
So watch yourself.

Okay, all of these things are  
intangible. You need to calm  
down. 

Sorry.

Who’s coming over here tomorrow?

No idea. My siblings like to  
randomly stop by.

How many do you have?

2 brothers and 2 sisters

That’s not bad.

Plus, our cousin who used to  
live with us, and some foster  
kid my parents adopted.

And I need to learn their  
names? 

Just stay in the room all day.  
No one will care.

Um. You need to eat.

Closet. Far left. Three shelves  
down. Old shoe box.

Why do you keep a jar of  
peanut butter, ramen noodles,  
and a can of spaghettios in  
your closet? 

That’s it?

I need to restock.

Rickon?

I skip a lot of family meals.

Why?

I don’t get along with them.

Why not?

Huge age difference

Parents are dicks

No freedom

No privacy

What’s the age difference?

I dont bother counting.

Sorry.

Forget about it.

Um, do you want to go to  
sleep now? 

Add yourself on snapchat. If  
you want to interact with  
them, I can at least give you  
names and stuff.

It’s fine. I don’t have to.  
I’ll follow your rules over here. 

Don’t sweat it.

And I didn’t say it before, but  
thank you. 

What did I do?

You actually stood up for me.  
Or made me stand up for myself.  
I would have just gone to the  
party and not realized it was pity. 

Trust me. You would have. 

Okay. Yeah. I would have.  
And I would have stayed and  
pretended I was okay with it.  
Better than leaving and  
admitting that I wasn’t  
wanted there.

How is that better?

You’ve seen how I’m treated.

Tell me something about my  
friends. 

Shireen.

Because only two people  
might have approached you  
today, and they would have  
been asking for homework help  
And they dont even want help.  
They just want to cheat off  
me and I just let them.  
Because then, at least I’m  
useful, right? 

Nope.

What did you say?

That’s not useful.

It’s not?

Not in the slightest.

You don’t owe them anything.  
And they don’t deserve it.  
You’ve been too nice to  
assholes and that’s how you  
get hurt. 

Trust me on this. 

Just ignore them and start  
taking care of yourself.

That’s not a good way to be liked.

By who?

By anyone.

What about by you?

I don’t count.

Wrong.

Excuse you?

You’re wrong.

Why do you say that?

Because I know I’m not liked  
by my family, or any teachers,  
or most of my classmates.

They all just think I’m some  
idiot who got suspended.

They can believe that fucked-up  
truth all they want. But you  
know who's on my side? ME.

I’m fucking proud of that  
decision I made. Because they  
could’ve been right. I could be an  
addict, ditching class, smoking,  
shooting up, shoplifting,  
vandalizing, just like all those  
other fuckers.

But I’m not. No one will  
ever believe that. But at  
least I know it’s true.

Hate to break it to you, buddy,  
but you still ditch class. 

I don’t sleep well.

Take a benadryl.

What?

It’s allergy medication.  
Mostly just an antihistamine,  
but it’s not addictive and  
it’ll knock you out. 

I don’t really like the idea of  
drugs putting me to sleep.

I’m not giving you bad advice  
here. 

How do I know that?

Because I believe you.

What?

Everything I’ve learned about  
you. Everything I’ve seen  
today. Everything you’ve  
told me. 

I believe you.

You shouldn’t.

Why not?

No one else does.

You do.

Ha ha.

I’m not saying it to be funny.

Sure.

Thanks for standing up for me.

Anytime.

You sleepy now?

It’s nearly midnight.

But are you tired?

Yeah.

Let’s get some sleep then.  
We’ll need to be ready if  
we have to spend another  
day like this. 

That’s true.

Goodnight, Rickon.

Night, Shireen.

(Not a good one?)

ughhh

pretty please?

Goodnight, woman.

Sweet dreams :)


	4. Chapter 4

The alarm didn’t go off on weekends. It wasn’t set to do that. Weekends were reserved for sleeping in with no consequences. However, there were quite a few consequences if a dog happened to be in the room. Ignoring a large dog in the early morning was generally a plan for disaster. After being stepped on a few times, the dog started licking at any available skin to get some attention. Rickon recoiled away from the sensation before pulling himself out of bed and opening the door for the dog.

He stared out into the hallway for a long time before he realized where he was. Instead of falling back into bed, Rickon sprinted to the bathroom. The last thing he needed was to be in Shireen’s body while he was at home. Before he even got to the bathroom, he was fairly certain that he was back to normal. After all, having breasts was beyond uncomfortable, and he was sure that he would have felt those as he ran. Still he was relieved to find his thin, lanky body reflected in the mirror. With a sigh, Rickon slumped onto the sink.

Everything was back to normal. He tended to his needs quickly before going to collapse back into bed. Maybe he had just imagined the whole thing. Blindly, Rickon reached under his pillow for his phone, but it wasn’t there. Frowning, he pushed himself up until he found it on his bedside table. The notification light was going off, but Rickon only needed to check one thing.

He had a few new messages, but he found one conversation from an unknown number. The unread message read,

 _Just so you know, there’s a_  
_risk of fire when you leave_  
_a phone charging under_  
_your pillow._

Not much farther up, he found confirmation that this was Shireen’s number. She hadn’t added herself to his contacts. Rickon quickly changed that, typing in her name. However, then the text messages looked really weird. It was bizarre to read his words being attributed to her name. He settled on a series of emojis: a unicorn, the upside-down smiley face, a die, the shuffle symbol, and an interrobang.

It honestly didn't feel sufficient enough, but Rickon knew it was the best he could do off of the little he knew about her. He didn’t respond to the message, though. He typed what he remembered of her username and added her on Instagram, making sure to like the picture he posted last night. Then, he took a guess with Snapchat and added her there, as well. Shireen added him back soon after.

Then, Rickon went through all of his notifications. Shireen had done an excellent job of ignoring them, and he couldn’t imagine how. Most were nonsense. They were simply clicked on to be deleted. A few were only of mild importance. Honestly, none of it seemed to matter much. Rickon was just glad for this normalcy.

He went back to sleep, hoping that Shireen’s morning was passing pleasantly. ️

His siblings did end up coming over that weekend, and Rickon dragged himself out of his room to sit quietly in a corner while they talked around him. During that time, Rickon reorganized the contents of his phone. He put all his necessary applications on one page, along with a note. He didn’t know what to put in the note yet, but he knew that it might be important later. His siblings asked him very few questions that he answered tritely. Mostly, he used the opportunity to take pictures of them, labeling them with their names and a short description of them. He didn’t send any of the pictures, but he saved them in a folder he made labeled “Family.”

“Dude, what are you playing? New game?” His eldest brother was rounding on his chair, prepared to look over his shoulder.

Rickon quickly switched apps to a random game. He flashed the screen at Robb. “I’m bored out of my mind.”

Robb crossed his arms. “You could actually spend time with us.”

Switching through his apps again, Rickon opened up Snapchat and took a picture of his brother. He only shifted his phone a tiny amount. “No, thanks,” he said. “I think I’m going to walk Shaggy.”

Robb made some comment that Rickon didn’t hear. He was already getting up and whistling for his dog. Shaggydog bounded up to his side, though he hadn’t yet learned to bring his leash like Summer. Rickon searched through the house for the leash and escaped before any questioning. Shaggydog could be a calm walker on occasion, and Rickon was glad for his out-of-character behavior today. It gave him the opportunity to add to his picture a small description:

“Robb. Oldest. An actual decade older than me. Has a fancy hotshot job as a lawyer or some shit. Probably between girlfriends. Definitely an idiot.”

Rickon saved the picture into the Family folder before sliding his phone away. It was probably overkill. It probably wasn’t necessary, but if Shireen happened to be in his body when his family was over, he didn’t want to leave her completely in the dark. Besides, he wasn’t even giving her all the details. She wouldn’t need them. He hoped.

Going back to school felt really strange. Rickon somehow pulled himself out of bed in time to get to school in the morning, so he hitched a ride with his mom. She made the usual comments, but Rickon ignored it. He had other things to think about.

He kept scrolling through the conversation with Shireen to make sure he knew what he was getting into. With a bit more focus, he realized that she might be right about Lyanna. Even though she was a year older than him, she kept looking over at him. Rickon kept trying to figure out what she was staring at, but he couldn’t narrow it down. He always had to look away quickly so she wouldn’t see him observing her. Then, he realized that it must look like he was staring at her. Rickon glued his eyes to the table. He was not going to get mixed up with anyone until he knew what was going on.

With his attention fixed on a small hole someone had dug into the surface ages ago, Rickon watched as his test was slid in front of him. At the top of the paper, in a thick red marker was a clearly written “F.”

Frowning, Rickon pulled the paper close. There was no way Shireen lied to him about this test. It should have been perfect. Hell, he even knew the material pretty well. It wasn’t his best subject, but he should have passed without a problem.

Sliding his phone out of his pocket, Rickon kept it out of sight as he examined his test. A lot of the answers were blank. With his eyes close to the page, he could tell that Shireen had definitely answered every question. Apparently, she wrote with a lot of force because there was still clear markings around what she had circled.

Grinding his teeth, Rickon hastily wrote a message to _Failed that bio test. Looks like someone erased all my answers._

Shireen’s response came faster than he expected: _Take it to the principal. That’s illegal._

Rickon rolled his eyes. _You mean the guy who recommended me for expulsion?_

 _I mean that you can legitimately_  
_sue the district. Take it to a_  
_counselor at least._

 _And please tell me that you_  
_could pass an oral exam on_  
_that material._

Rickon smirked. _I’m lazy, not stupid._

“On your phone, Mr. Stark?” his teacher asked. “Hand it over.”

Frowning, Rickon slid the device into his pocket. “I don’t have a phone.”

Someone snorted loudly. Most of the class was giggling. Rickon could see that Mr. Glover was furious. He carefully controlled his features. “A referral, then,” he said. “Maybe suspension wasn’t enough. Perhaps an expulsion will have to do. Go to the office.”

Rickon snatched at his test and left the class. He was ready to break something. It took a lot of power for him not to rip his test into shreds. He stopped at a table to find some place for it in his backpack. Then, he figured he should tell Shireen.

_Got a referral for being on  
my phone. Sent to the office._

Again, Shireen’s response came quick. _Great. Go to a bathroom and give me a minute._

They were odd directions to follow, but she hadn’t steered him wrong yet. Rickon waited for further instruction which came two minutes later. He read through everything before finally heading out.

At the office, he was immediately brought into the principal’s office. “Again, Mr. Stark? I thought you promised these days were behind you.”

Rickon bit his tongue to gather himself. “And I thought your staff knew better than to illegally fail students.”

Mr. Norrey turned around. “I beg your pardon?”

Rickon placed the test on the table. “Glover erased half my answers so he could fail me.”

Mr. Norrey waved the matter away. “This is about your behavior in class,” he said firmly. “You were on your phone.”

“I was,” Rickon confirmed. “I was researching who to contact at the district office about the illegality Mr. Glover pulled. It seemed like I should bring it to their attention.”

There was a slight pause. “I will ask Mr. Glover about your test,” he said, taking a seat behind his desk and picking up the phone.

“Great,” Rickon said. “I’ll contact my lawyer about the way your teachers mess with their students.”

He was positive that his family had a lawyer, but Rickon had no idea how to contact them. He _did_ have a brother in law school, though. Rickon typed and sent the message, he attached all the files Shireen sent him for good measure. When he looked up, he saw that Mr. Norrey hadn’t made the call. Rickon simply waited. In that time, he got a response from his brother.

 _I’m forwarding this to Mr._  
_Cassel. You better not be_  
_lying about this._

Rickon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course his brother was taking that stance. He’d deal with Robb later.

“Perhaps, it’d be best for you to return to class,” Mr. Norrey said.

There wasn’t really a point to it. Class was almost over. Still, Rickon wanted to see if he could snag a witness. If Lyanna had been staring at him as much that day as she was today, she could vouch for him. He waited outside until the bell rang and waited for her to leave the classroom.

“Lyanna!” He waved her over.

She glanced at him before gathering herself and walking over. “Hey, Rickon, what’s up?”

“Do you remember the day of our final?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “You borrowed my pencil.”

Rickon nodded. “Right,” he said. “Did you happen to see me taking the test?”

Lyanna gave him a hard look. “I wasn't cheating.”

“But you saw me writing out answers.”

“A little. I was, um, making sure you weren’t biting my pencil.”

Rickon ignored that to get to the point. “So you definitely saw me taking the test.”

“Yes,” Lyanna said. “You were really focused, wrote very long responses, and read over them until we turned them in.”

“And you’d testify to that?”

“Rickon, what’s going on? I’m going to be late.”

Rickon pulled out his test and showed it to her. Lyanna frowned at the paper. She slowly turned through the pages.

“This isn’t your test. What happened to all your answers?”

“I think Glover erased them.”

Lyanna pulled the paper close to her face. “You’re right. Rickon, you need to tell someone.”

Rickon gave her a smile. “I did,” he said. “I’m working on it.”

The bell rang, and Lyanna quickly excused herself. Rickon was also late, but he had other things to worry about. If he remembered anything correctly about Jory, then his dad would be brought in soon. He gave his apologies to his art teacher, taking his seat in the back of the room. After instructions for the day were given, Rickon picked a small, messy project to get lost in. He started ripping up paper and checked his messages again.

There was one from Shireen and two from an unknown number. Rickon opened up the unknown ones first.

 _Rickon, this is Jory Cassel. I'm_  
_going to be investigating your_  
_case. Please keep your_  
_documents safe from any_  
_outside factors until we can_  
_have a copy made._

 _We will also need to test the_  
_validity of your claim with_  
_other tests soon. I’m going_  
_to schedule a date with_  
_your father._

Rickon shrugged it off. There wasn’t anything else he could do now. He opened Shireen’s message.

_Thanks._

_What for?_

_My gov teacher thinks I pulled_  
_a clever trick with my last_  
_assignment. The answers were_  
_wrong enough that they_  
_noticed what I was doing._

Rickon smiled. _Well, your quite clever._

After that, his day was starting to look up again. Maybe the weird situation last Friday would never happen again. He could only think of one reason he’d want it to, and it didn’t seem like something he could schedule. Though, since he was thinking of schedules, he pulled out the new copy that he got that morning and took a picture of it. It didn’t belong in the Family folder, but it needed a spot anyway. He put it there for the time being, wondering what other important details he couldn’t remember about his life at this moment.

That thought slipped away quickly and without any incoming messages, Rickon set to actually finishing his art project. It would be a mosaic or paper maché given the supplies he started with, but he couldn’t decide yet. Luckily, school was letting out shortly, so he just put his supplies away and headed out.

He was thinking that he might actually go home. His room definitely needed more cleaning, especially if he had any unexpected visitors again. Besides, even he knew that he needed to shape up. His academics weren’t horrible, but most of his teachers took every opportunity to look down on him. It was infuriating.

His thoughts were abruptly derailed when some shoved him into the wall. Rickon lashed out quickly, dodging away from the pressure so he wasn’t pinned in place. To his surprise, a relatively scrawny boy was under his hand, looking slightly terrified. He glanced around for a way out but settled for glaring when he couldn’t find an out.

“Looking after Lyanna, huh?”

Rickon relaxed his grip. His knew this kid. Roger had been in classes with him forever, and he had been making eyes at Lyanna longer than anyone else.

“I wasn’t,” Rickon told him. He released his grip. “There’s too much other shit going on.”

Roger bounced back quickly and shoved Rickon’s chest.“Well, stay away from her,” he said. “She doesn’t need some no-good troublemaker steering her wrong.”

Rickon knew better than to retaliate. He was bored of getting in trouble for fights. Besides, they weren’t fun anymore. “Don’t tell me what to do,” Rickon told him. “I’m not your enemy, but I’ll gladly change that up if I need to.”

Roger cowered away from the look in Rickon’s eyes. He scurried around the corner, where he was no longer a problem.

It was too much for Rickon anyway. He didn’t want to be dealing with his belligerent teacher who had it out for him. That was just causing trouble. And it was more things to keep track of.

As Rickon walked home, he started a calendar. He didn’t do much, but it would probably be helpful if this case got out of hand. It was the last thing Rickon wanted, but he could live with it.

#

Shireen had never felt more comfortable in her own body. She had been hoping it wouldn’t take anything extreme for this to happen, but she was dealing with it all fairly well, given the circumstances. It seemed that Rickon had been subtle enough not to cause any issues, so the only thing she had to deal with was being further ignored by her classmates and a bit more leniency from her teachers.

Apparently, after the trick Rickon pulled, her teacher had all noticed interesting similarities between her work and that of other students. They had been called in for questioning, and she had been moved to a more separate seat. With only a few months to graduation, she didn’t mind in the slightest, especially since she needed the space to study for finals.

There were only a few remaining questions that she had for Rickon, but he was quick at responding to text messages. She never waited long for a translation to Braavosi or an explanation for why a classmate was treating her oddly.

Only a few classmates couldn’t be explained by Rickon, and Shireen found herself with loose company during lunch. Eleyna Westerling and Joy Hill had been sitting with her, though they started with some distance to her and didn’t talk much.

The first time they sat near her, Shireen had glanced up briefly. No one said anything or made an acknowledgment of her, so she just continued with her work. Aside from her studies, Shireen was also creating a comprehensive list of everything she did on a daily basis. She needed to ensure that if an unexpected switch occurred, she wouldn’t have to worry about Rickon or anyone else messing up her schedule.

Her room was littered with sticky notes. She had laid out outfits for that were good for school and two that would work on weekends, pending weather. These had been on the dresser for some time before Shireen rearranged her drawers to clear a space for them. She now used that drawer for all the things she used daily, such as her deodorant, and sometimes with instructions, such as to comb her hair (start at the ends and move up about three inches at a time, DO NOT RIP THROUGH KNOTS, pull apart with fingers in small increments from the bottom). It was probably much more thorough than she needed to be, but Shireen wanted to take precautions.

She was working on making a comprehensive calendar when Eleyna spoke. “So are you planning on asking anyone to the dance?”

Joy scoffed. “I don’t need that kind of attention,” she said. “I’ll get laughed at for being the bastard who steps out of line.”

“No, you won’t,” Eleyna insisted. She didn’t look entirely convinced, though. “What about you?”

Shireen was only giving them marginal attention so it took the call of her name for her to focus. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Are you going to the dance?” Joy asked.

“Oh,” Shireen glanced at her calendar. Images of Rickon being forced to dance as her flashed through her mind. “Um, no. I have plans.”

Eleyna and Joy exchanged a look before they went on discussing potential dates. Shireen still couldn’t figure out why they were sitting near her. Her only possible thought was that Rickon was to blame. She sent off a quick message to him.

 _Why are Eleyna Westerling and_  
_Joy Hill sitting with me at lunch_  
_now?_

Rickon’s reply came moments later. _Who?_

Shireen discreetly took a snapchat of them and sent it to Rickon. This worked before. Last time, Shireen was trying to figure out who had asked her to the party. It only took a little bit of trial to figure out that it was a Lannister daughter that only skirted past her now. Shireen was glad to have those interactions gone, especially since she never particularly liked the girl.

Rickon replied a little bit later. _They don’t look familiar. Maybe they were also bullied by that one chick?_

It was a reasonable assumption, especially since Shireen knew why Joy was attending school so far from home. She decided to ignore it for now. It didn’t really concern her anyway. She already had Rickon’s attention, though.  
_How’s your case going?_

_Boring af. Took that test again,  
dealing with school people._

_Did you ask Lyanna out?_

_No. She’s a witness._

_Maybe later, then._

_Maybe._

Shireen finished up her calendar that day at lunch. It was mostly filled with school things: classes and homework. She considered putting down events she was planning on volunteering for, but she needed confirmation first. Besides, Rickon couldn’t cause that many problems in a library.

At home, things were still normal. She made an attempt at cooking dinner more often, and her dad ordered food if she didn’t manage to get to it. He took no notice of her absence that day, but he probably just thought she was studying.

Shireen set a slice of lasagna in front of him and took her seat to begin eating. It was mostly quiet, with only the news playing softly on a television behind them.

“You’ve started labeling your room,” he said.

Shireen looked up. Her dad didn’t go into her room often, but something felt off. She shrugged. She had already thought of a reason for this. “Yeah, I’m trying to figure out what I use on a daily basis, so I know what to pack when I go off to college.”

He nodded. Stannis Baratheon was a practical man, and Shireen believed that she got a lot of that from him. It was easy, with her taking charge of most things.

“I placed a news article on your bed.”

Shireen chewed slowly. She hadn’t been in her room yet. All of her studying happened at the kitchen table. “What’s it about?”

“A few universities have begun sending out acceptances,” Stannis said.

“Really?” Shireen had been looking forward to this for months. She couldn’t wait to head out and get a fresh start. “I’ll have to check on my applications.”

Though he made no audible response, Shireen noticed a small smile on her dad’s face. She worked hard to make him proud. It wasn’t always so easy for them, but he was the one constant in her life. Most of her concerns about going off to college centered mostly on leaving her dad on his own. He was an adult and should know how to manage, but Shireen wondered how he’d take it.

Stannis cleared his throat gently. “I know we couldn’t schedule trips to your chosen universities before, but I thought we could plan something during your spring break,” he said. He didn’t meet her eyes, and Shireen thought he looked a little embarrassed at mentioning it. “If all your acceptances come in, we could visit your top choices.”

Shireen tried not to get her hopes up. “Don’t you have to work over the break?”

“If I remember correctly, most of the schools have fly-out programs,” he said, finally looking her way. “I believe your choice should be yours alone, unless you’d like me to accompany you."

Shireen smiled at him. “Honestly, Dad, I’d rather hang out with you here,” she said. “I know you don’t like traveling, and I think I can manage a weekend on my own. I mean, I'm going to have to if I head off for an entire year.”

“If that’s what you want.” Stannis returned to reading the newspaper. It was as forward as he got with her.

They had had it rough for a few years, but Shireen knew how to balance out time with her dad. Besides, she didn’t like going out much either.

After dinner, Shireen went back to labeling her room. It was mostly for Rickon’s sake and likely much more thorough than it actually needed to be. Shireen wasn’t going to take chances, though. She covered every scenario she could think of Rickon coming into and set outfits, lists of phone numbers, and schedules for those days in places he could find them.

She still had plenty of time for her schoolwork, finishing it early on most days. She wanted to get ahead in case Rickon ended up with any homework. It wasn’t that she thought Rickon wasn’t smart—after all, he was helping her with her Braavosi homework—she just didn’t want him doing anything above his grade level. He was younger than her, which she constantly reminded herself of.

Her phone buzzed. She opened up the message.

_How come you aren’t following  
me on instagram?_

Shireen frowned down at her phone. _Do I need to?_

 _Obviously. No one else is going_  
_to tell me that I should take_  
_down a picture or delete a_  
_caption because I sound dumb._

_I didn’t realize that was my  
responsibility._

_It's not a responsibility. Just._  
_I want opinions from people_  
_I trust_.

Shireen smiled down at her phone. _You should post a picture of your dog._

_He will never sit still for that._

_He would for me :P_

Rickon stopped replying, and Shireen waited for the outcome. If she knew him enough, he’d take that as a personal challenge. Sure enough, half an hour later was a profile shot of Shaggydog. Shireen liked the picture and prepared for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I'm doing a Rickeen Giveaway over on my blog! If you're interested in entering, head on over and check it out!](https://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/179523537716/rickeen-giveaway)


	5. Chapter 5

Rickon:

shireen

Shireen

SHIREEN

HELP

WAKE UP. I NEED HELP.

Do not make me google this,  
woman.

Shireen.

WAKE UP.

Shireen:

Oh my god.

I'm so sorry.

Just, um… go to the bathroom  
and take care of it.

Fucking hells, woman. It looks  
like a goddamn murder.

It kinda is?

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck.

Boxes are under the sink. Just  
read them for instructions.

You're not going to tell me  
how?

It's pretty self-explanatory.

...

How’d it go?

Absolutely fucking disgusting.

Congratulations. You’re a  
woman now.

Is the pain really necessary?

It’s not that bad.

????

This is a simulation of death.

You’re being a little over  
dramatic.

I am actually dying.

YOU are actually dying.

It happens every month.  
Calm down.

This is not a situation for calm.

Top-left drawer. Take two  
painkillers. Try to eat food  
with them.

You expect me to get food?

We have granola bars in the  
pantry.

That’s so far...

Would you rather deal with  
the pain?

. . . . . . .

When you finish that, just go  
back to bed. You’ll be fine.

I could stay curled up on this  
floor forever.

Everything hurts.

I welcome death with open  
arms.

Get off the floor and go  
to bed.

Moving is hard.

You don’t have to tell me.  
I’ve been dealing with this  
for years.

You’re an actual superhero.

Get off the floor.

Fine. I’m in bed. Happy?

I was happy when I woke up.  
One day away is like a  
vacation.

...enjoy your vacation.

Oh, I will.

How do you make the pain  
go away?

Uh, you don’t. I usually just  
do my best to be normal  
while I'm at school.

YOU GO TO SCHOOL  
LIKE THIS?

It’s not an excuse to ditch.

I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL  
LIKE THIS??

No. You stay home.

Okay good.

But like, actually no way to  
get rid of the pain?

I’ve been told that exercise  
helps.

EXERCISE?

You've gotta be kidding.

Women are expected to act  
completely normal all the  
time. No one wants to know  
about our problems.

Fuck that.

There is so much blood.

Again, sorry.

I FEEL GROSS.

Just take a nap

THIS IS DISGUSTING.

It's not that bad.

What if I have to go to the  
bathroom again?

You just… clean up.

And you do this every month?

Yup.

Please seek alternative options.

You’ve been dealing with it  
for less than a day. Relax.

I can’t relax.

I feel like i’m being stabbed.

You’re such a drama queen.

All the other switches have  
been fine.

Just normal days.

Go to school.

Make food.

Follow all your instructions  
via sticky note.

Are you done?

THIS IS TERRIBLE

...yes

Okay. Take a nap. I’m supposed to be reading.

 

 

How are you feeling?

Like there are slugs falling out  
of me.

Sorry.

Eh. It’s not your fault.

Have you eaten?

Yeah, you had leftovers in the fridge.

Okay, good.

Do you need me to take care  
of anything for you?

Honestly, the day off is worth  
it.

I’m finishing up your homework  
right now.

You didn’t have to do that

With the looks your bio teacher  
gave me, I did

What a fucking asshole

How is he not fired yet?

District is trying to hush my  
parents and keep it under  
wraps.

Jory says they’ll break soon

Who’s Jory?

Family lawyer

Ah

Yeah. He’s handling the case  
for me.

Good.

Also, you got a lot of texts  
from a Joy and an Eleyna

Yeah, you’ve met them

I didn’t realize you were  
hanging out with them  
outside of school

They’re in my classes. It’s  
easy. And nice having friends.

Well, they sent messages  
asking if you were okay

Are you reading my  
messages?

They popped up in the  
notification bar

Just tell them I have cramps.  
They’ll understand.

It’s like a weird secret language

Not really a secret. Boys just  
don’t pay attention

You’re probably right

Shireen?

Where’d you go?

Sorry, your brother asked for  
help moving some things

Oh okay

He was asking some pointed  
questions and I did not know  
the answers

What did you say?

That I wasn’t paying attention

I told him to ask me later.

Pretend to be asleep.

Why?

Just do it

Okay, but why?

Bran thinks ‘later’ means later that day. Not tomorrow.

Oh.

Yeah, he’ll come in and ask you about it soon

So I just...

pretend to sleep

That's not weird at all

Unless you remember the  
questions

Then I can tell you right now

It was something about your  
plans next week because he's  
got a friend coming over

Weird. I'll ask him tomorrow.

Alright

If only we could plan these  
switches.

So I can give you a day off  
every time you're bleeding?

That, too

But these have all been  
pretty normal days

And?

Well, what if we actually  
had plans?

Look, if you have to go to a  
concert for my favorite band,  
you have to record the whole  
thing for me.

Exactly.

What if it was something  
important?

Like what?

Well, what if it never stops?

We deal with it

And I just pretend to be in  
love with your future wife?

I see your point

Or if it happened on one of  
our wedding days.

But that's a long time a way

We’ll figure it out by then

Will we?

Because I can't even figure out why it's happening now.

What do you think we should  
do?

Become guinea pigs for a  
scientist?

Maybe… we could tell  
someone?

Why?

Well, if something did happen  
on an important day, they  
could cover for us.

You want to tell your dad  
about this?

Because there is no one else  
in the house here.

In fact, I rarely see him here.

What about your brother?

He seems nice.

Bran is a contender.

He’ll think your crazy?

Or that it's a joke.

Joke is better than a mental  
institution

True. But maybe we  
should avoid all that  
until this case is over.

Agreed.

Your integrity does not need  
to be compromised.

Agreed.

So, how are you feeling about  
women after having this  
experience?

I will never again say that  
they have it easy.

Hahahaha

I'm afraid to move.

Please get everything clean

before bed.

I did. Don't worry.

Thank you.

But all my other feelings are  
the same.

Why are boobs so squishy  
and fun?

Not yours.

Well, yes, yours.  
Actually, they kind of hurt  
right now.

But not that I've been doing anything.

Except that first day, but it was  
a misunderstanding, i swear

I get it

But yeah. I'm still attracted  
to girls.

Changing biological sex didn't  
alter that?

Did it for you?

Not really. Just going to be  
less surprised when we hit  
third base

You still use bases?

I'm rolling my eyes at you.

That's hilarious

Also, I noticed Lyanna wasn't  
staring as much

Nah, she started dating  
someone

I'm sorry

Meh. No loss.

Should I flirt with other girls  
for you?

I kind of know exactly what  
they want to hear.

That depends, do you want  
me to return the favor?

Pft. No one would find me  
attractive.

Disagree.

Also, you just got a DM from  
some kid named Edric.

Can I read it?

DO NOT

Fine.

But I'm going to guess and  
say he likes you

Not in a million years.

Isn't prom coming up?

Irrelevant

Opportunities, Shireen.

Dead ends, Rickon.

Blah blah blah

You know I'm right

Gotta take chances

And what? End up like Carrie?

DID YOU WATCH IT??

Maybe

Do not fuck with me

I'm not?

What kind of expression is  
that?

ANSWER THE FUCKING  
QUESTION

You are taking this movie  
too seriously

If you provide proof of  
watching, I will watch  
any movie you tell me  
to.

Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper?

I'm regretting my offer.

I'm joking.

Thank gods

But I did watch it.

AND????

It was pretty good.

…..

What?

That's it?

I mean, there were some ideas  
that needed work. But it was  
pretty solid overall

Her emotional trauma should  
have been dealt with, but her  
psychotic mother made that  
difficult

Which I totally understand

So you liked it?

Mostly

Made me think too much  
about my mother.

You don't have to tell me  
if you dont want to.

I mean, she's gone now

but she was a religious zealot

(So you're saying that you  
might actually be Carrie?)

Sorry.

I'm perfectly normal

And not going to murder my  
entire class

I thought so

Sorry

Lol. Don't apologize

So what movie should I  
watch for you?

I'll get back to you on that?

Too hard to choose?

Too late.

I'm sleepy.

Right

I didn't check the time

I'll talk to you later

Goodnight!

Goodnight, Shireen.

#

Good morning. And thank you.

Im going to take a guess and  
say that you shouldn't be  
thanking me.

You left me chocolate.

it was a two second google  
search.  
and it was your money

You're no fun.

You will never see those two  
dollars again.

Oh no! I'll have to file for  
bankruptcy, sell the house,  
lose my dowry, and work in  
a factory to pay this off!

. . .

Thanks ;P

You're welcome.

#

Shireen paced the floor. It had been months since the switches with Rickon started. Sure, they had gone from being once a week to once every twelve days (she was keeping a calendar), but she didn't want any surprises coming up. Someone needed to know, and this was her only option left. Thankfully, Rickon agreed.

Shaking her hands roughly, Shireen tried to gather herself. This was already going to be difficult. She raised a hand and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Shireen entered the room, finding Bran sitting behind a computer. He closed out of a messaging window and turned to face her.

“Oh, hey, Rickon,” he said slowly. His brow was furrowed. “What’s up?”

Shireen took a deep breath. She moved toward Bran’s bed, but she didn't sit down. “I need to tell you something weird, and it's going to sound absurd.”

Bran’s eyes narrowed. “Already there.”

Shireen nodded. She closed her eyes and blurted out, “I'm not Rickon.”

Bran rolled his eyes. “So who are you? Wolf Boy again?”

“What?” Shireen shook her head roughly. “No, I'm a eighteen-year-old girl named Shireen Baratheon.”

Bran gave her an incredulous look. He turned back to the computer. “Sure.”

“I am.” Shireen slid onto the bed to try to meet Bran’s eyes. “I go to Rainwood Academy. I'm applying for universities. I can tell you all the weird things about being female.”

Shaking his head, Bran turned to stare at her. “Are you trying to come out?” he asked. “Rickon, are you trans?”

“It’s not like that,” Shireen said. She paused. “Or maybe it is for Rickon, but I don't think so. You'd have to ask him. I just—sometimes I wake up and instead of being me, I'm Rickon.”

Bran’s gaze was hard. “Are you shitting me?”

Shireen pulled out Rickon’s phone. “I can prove it.” She dialed her own number and braced for hearing her voice on the phone.

“I told you,” Rickon greeted, sounding remarkably like a eighteen-year-old girl.

“Just talk to your brother.” Shireen put the phone on speaker.

“Whattup, bro.”

Bran snorted. “Arya, stop using Rickon for pranks. You're no good at it.”

“I'm gonna tell her you said that,” Shireen’s voice said. “Then, she’ll kick your ass. Come on. Facetime me.”

Bran reached over to take the phone from Shireen. He pressed the button to activate the video and Shireen’s face appeared. “Um, hi.”

“Bran, it's me. I got a dog that has a stupid name because I named him when I was a kid, and you fell out of a second-story window when you were six and fucked up your legs.”

Bran rounded on Shireen. “Alright, Rickon. Too far. You can't be telling strangers about us for a joke.”

“It's not a joke,” Shireen and Rickon said at the same time.

“I'm your younger brother, trapped in that goddamned house, and I'm going to bounce as soon as I can because you're fucking annoying me.”

Bran rolled his eyes. “Well, he’s certainly taught you to talk like him. Good work.” Bran turned to Shireen and handed her the phone. “This is pointless. I'm not playing this game.”

Shireen fumbled for words. “I just—"

“You're gay.”

Bran froze with his hand hovering over his mouse. He turned around, and Shireen nearly cowered away. Her face was red, she was sure of it. Bran glared at her. “What?”

Rickon spoke through the phone. “It's cool, man. Just, I know your friend has been coming over a lot, and you don't need to be hiding in your room. I mean, I was gonna wait until you wanted to bring it up, but that's my only play left.”

Bran took the phone to stare at the face on the screen. “H-how do you know?”

Rickon scoffed. “Jojen’s been coming over a lot and staying for dinner. Also, like, the doors aren't great. I can hear you guys making out.”

Shireen face could not have been hotter. She was probably scarlet. This was not a conversation that she was part of, she should definitely not be spectating it. She shoved the phone toward Bran. “I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be here right now.”

Without waiting to be excused, Shireen left the room. Her face was burning. She had absolutely no reason to hear about Bran’s personal life, and she honestly couldn’t think of a way for Rickon to still be talking. Shireen went into the bathroom and splashed her face with water. It wasn’t helping. She went back to Rickon’s room, curled up on the bed, and prayed that she would wake up in her own body.

Some time later, the door opened. Shireen pretended to be asleep. She heard a wheelchair rolling closer. Shireen did her best to ignore it, but her heart was pounding.

“It's true,” Bran said. “I am gay. I didn’t realize Rickon knew.”

Shireen sat up abruptly. “You don't have to tell me anything,” she blurted out. “It's none of my business. I'll just to go sleep and wake up back in my own body, and we can forget this ever happened.”

Bran ignored her. He pulled up a picture on his phone and turned the screen to face her. There was a slightly older boy on the screen. He had brown hair and deep green eyes. He had a huge smile on his face. “This is Jojen.”

“Bran.” Shireen tried to focus on her point. “You don’t—"

“And sometimes, when I wake up, I look like him,” Bran said. He brought his phone close and smiled at the picture. “Those days, I can walk again. There's a different family around, but they're nice. And I just—I know there's a reason for it.”

Shireen quickly picked up her jaw. “This happens to you?”

Bran shrugged. “Not much anymore.”

“What's the reason?” Shireen asked.

Putting his phone away, Bran looked evenly at Shireen. He took out Rickon’s phone and placed it on the bed. “Do you like Rickon?”

Heat rushed back to Shireen’s face. “I don’t really… I mean… I guess I… He’s really nice.” Shireen was having difficulty finding words. “He’s helped me a lot. He doesn't complain about all the gross girl stuff anymore. He helps me with Braavosi.”

Bran didn’t say anything, but Shireen didn't want to ramble anymore. She sat quietly and waited for him. After a while, Bran spoke. “I'm in love with Jojen,” he said evenly. “And it feels like the universe tried so hard to bring us together that it settled for switching us around.”

“But you see him now?”

“Jojen takes ideas of fate very seriously.” Bran shuffled in his wheelchair. “He called me that very first morning and demanded that I tell him everything. He came up as soon as he could to see me. He's in town right now.”

“Is it different?”

“Of course it is,” Bran said. “You know someone so well. You learn so much about them living their life for them. And then you when meet, they already know. We don't have to explain anything. Everything just works.”

Shireen’s face burned. “Rickon is three years younger than me.”

Bran raised his hands. “I'm not saying you have to date him,” he defended. “Trust me, Rickon is annoying as fuck. I just know how it happened for me. Your distance is much greater. You probably aren't even thinking about meeting up."

“Not really,” Shireen mumbled. She had thought about it, but the thought was always in some abstract future. “I just… I owe him so much.”

The smile on Bran’s face stretched. “You really don't,” he said. “I think you'll find that it evens out pretty well.”

Shireen sniffled. Tears were streaming down her face. She hadn't even realized they were there. Rubbing at her eyes, Shireen stifled her sobs.

“I'm sorry.” Bran rolled closer. “Are you—?”

“I'm fine,” Shireen choked out. “Really. Thank you.”

Bran didn't press the issue. He backed out of the room. Shireen was thankful for the space. Her mind was crowded. She didn't know what she could possibly do. As soon as Bran had asked, she had been hit by a tidal wave of emotion.

Rickon's presence had become an integral part of her life. She couldn't imagine giving him not there. Not only was he helping her in Braavosi, he was also her main confidant. He knew things about her that no one else would ever understand. She could tell him about anything. The thought of losing that was physically painful.

How would she continue once this stopped? Who did she have to talk to?

Shireen wiped her face, trying to assure herself that it wouldn't be for a while. She didn't know that, though. Already, they weren't switching as often. Would their meetings just continue to dwindle until they never saw each other again? Shireen didn't know how to wrap her mind around it.

Rickon:  
Despite the hiccups, I think  
that went well.

Shireen?

Shireen:  
Yeah. He was surprisingly  
cool about it.

And now we have a cover in  
case something weird ever  
happens with us.

Yup.

You okay?

You sound off.

I'm fine. Just a little tired.

Get some sleep, then. I'll talk  
to you in the morning.

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

#

Shireen gingerly carried in a bag stuffed with boxes of food. The delivery guy told her it was already paid for and that she didn't have to do anything. The problem was that she didn't even know what it was. It smelled like Dornish food, but Shireen waited until she opened up the bags to confirm that she had a massive amount of fresh Dornish food.

“Something smells amazing!” Eleyna walked into the kitchen, bouncing around on the balls of her feet.

“Oh my gods.” Joy was slack-jawed, staring at the food. “I guess we don't have to order pizza now.”

Shireen shrugged, and picked up her phone that lit up with a notification. “Guess not…”

There was a single message from Rickon. _Surprise._

Rolling her eyes, Shireen began to type out a response.

“Don’t text him back!” Joy snatched at her phone.

Shireen jumped away quickly. “What was that for?”

Eleyna leveled a glare at Shireen. “Look, we can happily enjoy this food together,” she began evenly, “but you cannot text Edric back, even if you’re just going to thank him for this.”

Shireen’s brow furrowed. “Edric didn’t send this.”

Joy rolled her eyes and began serving plates. “It's _Dornish_ food, Shireen. He's from Dorne.”

“It's obviously meant to get you thinking about him so you'll take him back,” Eleyna added.

Shireen shook her head head. “Okay. First of all, this is not from Edric.” Her phone lit up with another message. “And second: he broke up with me.”

That wasn't entirely true, but that was the truth that the rest of their school had agreed on. In actuality, they had never dated. Edric had simply gone to prom with them and danced with Shireen. There were no dates. Though, Edric did drive her home and have lunch with them a few times afterward. He stopped coming to lunch for a week before he had brought it up with her.

The explanation was simple enough. He enjoyed prom. He had a good time. But he wanted to go sit with his other friends. Shireen understood and told him so. And that was that.

Except Eleyna and Joy would not let it go. Not even on the eve of Shireen’s move to university.

“Well, he made a mistake and must have realized he wants you back,” Eleyna said.

“And who can blame him?” Joy added. They shared a high five.

Shireen took her plate into the other room and sat in front of the television. She waited until Eleyna and Joy were distracted to check her messages from Rickon.

_Shireen?_

_Did it work?_

_I swear, I typed everything  
in right._

Shireen wrote a short response. _Why Dornish?_

Rickon's reply came shortly. _It worked!! You said you were craving it the other day._

Smiling at the message, Shireen ate another few mouthfuls before replying. _Your kindness is causing some problems._

_Oh?_

“We said no texting!” Joy careened at her to make for her phone, but Shireen held it out of reach.

“I am not texting Edric.” She glared over at them. “I swear.”

Eleyna crossed her arms. “Who is it then?”

Biting her tongue, Shireen tried to think through a response that wouldn’t alarm Joy and Eleyna. She had resolved not to tell them about Rickon. She didn’t even know how to begin explaining that situation. Something further might make them worry, though.

“Uh, it’s Devan,” Shireen said. “He sent the food as a going-away present.”

Joy smiled at her. “Are you nervous about UR?”

Shireen shook her head. She liked the University of Riverrun. The campus was beautiful. She had already been talking to her roommate, and Alys seemed nice. There was nothing for her to be worried about. Shireen was packed and ready to begin her college education. It was going to be great. Shireen shook her head. “No, I’m really excited.”

“Good.” Eleyna took a huge bite of food. She covered her mouth and kept talking. “Get away from these folk at Rainwood.”

Nodding in agreement, Shireen checked her phone again. There was another message from Rickon.

_Hey, do you know when our  
next switch is?_

_Approximately?_

_I’m trying to do a thing_

Stifling a giggle, Shireen checked her calendar. She didn’t know the exact math behind when they switched places, and there was a lot of variation. It was mostly unpredictable, but she could narrow it down. It was harder now that some time had passed. The switches weren’t as regular. She could guess, though.

 _We should be safe for another two weeks, I think,_ she replied.

___Cool_ _ _

Shireen rolled her eyes. She wasn’t going to figure out what his plans were. They didn’t concern her anyway. Other than their forced interaction, Rickon was technically a stranger. She had to keep reminding herself that she didn’t actually know him at all. He was just a stranger on the other side of the continent. They were nice to each other and occasionally left the other gifts, but that was more out of consideration in knowing how difficult living their own lives could be. Besides, their age difference was too much to think about. Even if Bran had switched with someone else and fallen in love with them, it didn’t mean that the same would happen with her and Rickon.

It had been a lot to think about. Shireen tried to push it from her mind, focusing on her move to university. It was related, though. Riverrun was much closer to Winterfell. She could feasibly take a train up and actually see Rickon. Somehow, the idea was weird.

So Shireen went back to ignoring it.

#

“Hey, are you Rickon today?”

Rickon glanced up from his phone. Bran was halfway in his room, idling at the door. Rickon rolled over to face him. “And most other days, too,” he said. “What’s up?”

Bran cleared his throat. “I just, um,” Bran looked at the floor, “Jojen’s coming over, and I was wondering if you wanted to meet him.”

Rickon furrowed his brow. “I have.”

“Well, you’ve said hi and stuff,” Bran said. He rolled forward to the edge of the bed. “He thought you might want to talk about the, uh, switching stuff.”

“Oh.” Rickon hadn’t given a lot of thought to the fact that his brother had also experienced this switching with someone else. Rickon had mostly pushed it aside because Bran hadn’t had to change sex for his switches. For Bran, he could see the significance. Jojen wasn’t a very active person, but Bran hadn’t walked in years. That shock alone must have been liberating. Still, Rickon couldn’t see what he could learn from Bran’s boyfriend.

Bran looked up expectantly.

“Yeah, sure,” Rickon said. He didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

Bran smiled. “Great,” he said. “We should probably do it outside… in case Mom or Dad hears something…”

Rickon nodded. “Good point,” he said. “We can take the dogs for a walk.”

Shaggydog didn’t like the leash very much. Rickon was used to this behavior, knowing that Shaggydog pulled at the leash and tried to hold it in his mouth. Rickon tried to tug the leash away, but Shaggydog fought him. Rickon groaned, “Would you drop it?”

To his surprise, Shaggydog released the leash.

“Wow.” Bran looked over in shock. “Did you finally get around to training him?”

Rickon scoffed. “He doesn’t need to be trained.”

Jojen raised an eyebrow at him. “Your dog is massive. He needs to be trained.” They stopped on the flattest open area. Summer circled Bran’s chair once before sitting patiently to have his leash removed. Then, Jojen went to Rickon’s side. “It’s not even that hard,” he said. “You’ve just gotta be direct and reward the right behavior. Like this. Shaggydog, sit.”

Shaggydog fell onto his haunches and looked up at Jojen expectantly. He cocked his head to the side.

“Huh.” Jojen squinted down at Shaggydog. He reached over to Bran’s wheelchair and grabbed a ball. He tossed it and said, “Fetch.”

Shaggydog didn’t need telling. He bolted across the field, racing Summer to retrieve the ball.

Rickon leaned over. “I think you forgot the reward.”

“I don’t think he needs it,” Bran said. “Give him other commands.”

Rickon did. When prompted, Shaggydog sat, went down, shook, rolled over, played dead, and spun in a circle. None of them could think of any more tricks, so they looked up an extensive list and found that Shaggydog could perform all of them. Even Summer didn’t keep up.

“When did you train him so well?” Jojen asked. “It sounded like you didn’t spend much time with him.”

That was mostly true. Rickon liked having his dog around, but he had wanted Shaggydog to be just as rebellious as he was. He thought that tricks were part of that. The only explanation he could think of was that Shireen was serious about training him so she could steal his dog. He knew that Bran and Jojen would understand, but Rickon didn’t really want to bring it up. Shireen wasn’t really a topic that he felt comfortable discussing with other people, and he was hoping that Bran and Jojen wouldn’t push for details.

“He must have picked it up somewhere,” Rickon said, waving the matter away. He looked over to Bran. “So you walked more recently than we thought,” he smirked. “What's it like?”

Bran's cheeks tinged red. “I keep forgetting where things are supposed to go.”

Jojen smiled. “We actually use the higher cabinets.” He leaned his forearms onto the back of Rickon's chair. “Meera caught on quick.”

Bran's face went scarlet. “I haven't mentioned that part yet.”

“Oh?” Jojen shot a quick look at Bran. “Well, that's what we're here to investigate.”

Rickon leaned down to throw the ball for Shaggydog again. He had nudged it right between his feet. As the dog ran off, Rickon turned to his brother. “What are you investigating?”

Bran exchanged a look with Jojen squirming around in his chair a bit. “It's going to sound really weird…”

Rickon snorted. “Yeah, because it can get weirder?”

“He has a point,” Jojen said. He bounced up and gave Rickon a critical look. “You've been switching places with this girl from the Stormlands, right?”

Rickon nodded.

Jojen paused for a moment. “Just her?”

“Yeah.” Rickon tried to keep the question out of his voice. It didn't work.

“Cool,” Jojen said. “You're like me.”

Bran was still staring pointedly at the floor, so Rickon directed his question to Jojen. “What does that mean?”

Bran groaned loudly and rolled back a few feet.”It means I'm a freak.”

Rickon's eyebrow shot up. “Why?”

Bran was completely red in the face.

Jojen responded. “Because sometimes, Bran wakes up in my sister's body.”

Rickon blinked. That wasn’t something he had to deal with. It sounded much more difficult. Both Bran and Jojen were looking for his reaction, so Rickon forced a sound out. “Oh.”

They exchanged a look, but they didn't say anything.

“Well, I guess it could he because she's your sister,” Rickon suggested. “Shireen doesn't have any siblings, so I wouldn't know if that's possible. But she's never woken up as any of you guys.”

“That you know of,” Jojen pointed out.

Rickon furrowed his brow. “She would have told me.”

Bran’s lips flattened into a line. “Would she?”

“Yeah.” Rickon surprised himself with how automatic that response was. They were so open with each other. He couldn't imagine not telling Shireen if he ever ended up in someone else's body. She would definitely tell him the same.

“So you think the gods just missed?” Jojen asked.

Rickon shrugged. “If you want to put it that way, then yeah,” Rickon said. It sounded logical to him. After all, who knew how good the proximity measure was? Maybe the same thing might have happened to Shireen. He’d have to ask her later. He pulled at another idea. “Do you think it's something else?”

Jojen raised a finger. “I have a theory.”

“Jojen…” Bran frowned.

“Come on. It's plausible.” Jojen’s smile faded. “Unless you're not ready.”

After a moment, Bran sighed. “No, it’s fine. Tell him your theory.”

“Are you sure?” Jojen asked. He quickly waved his hands in front of him, as if erasing a thought. “Wait. First, we need evidence.”

Rickon frowned. “What are you going on about?”

Jojen cleared his throat. “I'm going to ask a question, which I suppose you don't have to answer honestly.”

“O...kay…” Rickon brushed off Shaggydog’s insistence that he throw the ball again.

“This girl you switch with,” Jojen started, “do you like her?”

Rickon frowned. “In what way?”

“Romantically.” Jojen stated it as if it was a very simple matter.

It took Rickon a while to organize his thoughts. He had promised himself he wouldn't think of Shireen that way. He certainly didn't want to admit that he had dreams about meeting her. Rickon wanted time to sort out those feelings on his own. He went for an approximation of the truth.

“We're friends,” Rickon said evenly, “and we've never met. I guess it's possible that we'll meet someday and actually like each other, but like, she offers to flirt with other girls for me.” He tried to shrug it off.

He didn't want that offer of Shireen's to even be real in the first place. He guessed that she was only offering so he'd return the favor, but they've both declined any such action from the other.

“But she's a potential romantic interest?” Jojen asked. “Like, you could see it happening one day?”

Now, Rickon's face was pink.

“Jojen,” Bran warned.

“Right. Don't answer that,” Jojen said quickly. He started pacing on the grass with his hands behind his back. “I just have this theory…”

Rickon jumped at the opportunity to shift the conversation away from himself. “What's the theory?”

Jojen took a deep breath. “Bran's my soulmate.”

Rickon furrowed his brow. That might lead back to him. He needed to steer the conversation away. “And you're not his?”

“No, I am,” Jojen clarified. “We switch. That's the key. The only difference is… Bran has two soulmates: me and my sister.”

Rickon made a face. “I mean, you guys are free to do what you want, but isn't it weird to think of your sister like that?” He certainly couldn't think of his sisters like that. It wasn't his place to judge, though. “If anything, Targaryens have been doing it for years, so--”

“No, no, no.” Jojen slumped over. “You're missing the key point. Bran switches with me. Bran switches with Meera. Meera and I have never switched. She's cool and all, but not my type.”

“No dick?” Rickon blurted out. His cheeks went red, and he immediately went to backtrack. “Sorry, I just…”

Jojen waved it off. “Nah, you're right.”

“It's not that crazy of a theory,” Bran mumbled. “You were wrong, Rickon. I'm not gay. I'm pan.”

Rickon nodded. “Alright, then.” He crossed his arms. “Assuming this Meera and you get on, too, then this theory holds water.”

“Exactly!” Jojen said.

Bran’s jaw dropped. “Did you not hear me?”

Rickon turned to face Bran. He glanced around. “Was that the wrong response?” he asked. “Um, congratulations? Enjoy your pan-poly life? Make sure you explain it slowly to Mom so she can make enough food for Christmas?”

“I just…” Bran's eyes dropped to the floor. “Aren't you mad?”

Rickon rolled his eyes. He scolded himself quickly, even though Bran couldn't see it. Then, he knelt down in front of Bran's wheelchair. “Dude. You're still my brother. I don't give a fuck about who you like as long as they don't turn out to be assholes. As long as everyone's a consenting adult, who cares?”

Bran looked up sheepishly. “Really?”

“Duh.” Rickon stood up again. “Wait, was this all a ploy to help you come out?”

“It's a valid theory,” Jojen defended.

Rickon shrugged. “I guess,” he said. “Do you want to wait three years to add my data to your pool?”

Jojen made a face. “Why do I have to wait?”

“Not a consenting adult yet,” Rickon explained, “and I don't know when or if I'll ever be able to meet Shireen.”

Jojen considered the thought. He tossed the ball for Shaggydog and Summer a few times. Then, he turned to Rickon. “We could go on a road trip,” he suggested. “It can't be that far.”

“Try nine hundred fifty-nine miles,” Bran corrected. He frowned down at his phone.

“And why would she want to be romantically involved with a fifteen-year-old when she's starting university?” Rickon added. It was his biggest concern with meeting Shireen. He wanted to, but he didn't want to set himself up for rejection. It was easier to voice his insecurities as reasons not to find Shireen.

Jojen didn't look convinced by this argument. “But if you're soulmates…”

“If,” Rickon repeated. “Look, she's my friend. I don't want to screw that up when I don't know if this switching is ever going to stop.”

“He's right,” Bran said. “It's been years.”

Rickon picked up the ball that Shaggydog put at his feet and threw it as far as he could. “How long has it been?”

Jojen furrowed his brow. “Uh… five years?” He looked to Bran for confirmation, and they shared a nod. “What about you?”

Rickon let out a low whistle. He shook his head. “It’s been about eight months.”

Shaggydog circled his legs a few times before, dropping the ball for him again. Rickon continued tossing it. He hadn’t really thought about how long the switches could last. He knew that Shireen was thinking ahead, but he hadn’t seriously considered it. Thinking even a year ahead seemed ridiculous. Already, Rickon was starting his next year of school while Shireen was starting at university. This had the possibility of becoming a huge problem for her. If Rickon made her miss a day of classes, she would get behind. She might miss something important for a test.

He couldn’t let that happen to her. As weird as it would be, Rickon would need to learn enough about her university to make her life as easy as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I'm doing a Rickeen Giveaway over on my blog! If you're interested in entering, head on over and check it out!](https://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/179523537716/rickeen-giveaway)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder that Shireen is on the left and Rickon is on the right.

Shireen:

Morning.

When you wake up, tell  
me where to find your schedule.

Rickon:

Good morning.

Binder. Back sleeve.

Thanks.

No problem.

Anything I should be prepared  
for today?

Just the regular boring  
high school stuff.

Anything I should know  
about your schedule?

You don’t have to go to class  
if you don’t want to.

I got some people who will  
take notes for me.

I don’t mind.  
Do you have a map?

And schedule?

Top drawer.

Aww. You made a special  
box of stuff.

You’re going to need it.

There are snacks in here!

Well, I have to eat, too.

Does food also taste just  
slightly off for you? Or is  
that just me?

Haha. No. Your taste buds  
are seriously messed up.

Rude

:P

Hey, where’s your  
roommate?

She has a super early class.

Mine starts at 10.

I take it she doesn’t know  
about me?

Correct.

Noted.

Should I return very late  
to avoid talking to her?

Uhh… it should be okay

I don’t know what you’d do  
on campus for so long.

I can keep myself busy

If you insist.

Check for my ID and room  
key before you leave.

You can get breakfast by  
swiping in at a dining hall.

Shir, I know how to read.

You left a very in depth  
note for me.

Sorry. It’s just…

I’m new to it, too.

Want me to try anything  
new for you?

And put all my trust in your  
weird taste buds?

No, thank you.

If you say so.

Here:

menu.dining.ur.edu/menus

Find something you like

You have fancy foods.

Anything to recommend?

Not yet.

It’s only been a couple weeks!

Hahaha. It’s okay.

Should I take notes in your  
notebook?

Start at the back.

I can rewrite them later.

Aye aye, cap’n

 

Your new science teacher  
is nice

And he doesn’t want me  
to get expelled!

It’s great.

The bar is so low.

Tell me about it

Class was fine, btw.

Nothing too crazy

I might have to switch to  
your major. Since I get a  
sneak peak of the classes.

Isn’t that cheating?

It’s called using your  
resources.

Sounds like cheating.

Only if you get caught?

(Words of a cheater)

Less fun anyway.

Are you not continuing  
Braavosi?

It’s not a requirement…

I thought languages count

I can do an art instead

How are you at art?

You don’t even doodle in  
your notes.

It can’t be that bad.

You do it all the time. :P

Har har har.

Uh. I think I’m lost getting  
back to your dorm?

Did you decide to head  
back early?

Obviously.

I was going to put your stuff  
away before dinner.

Dining halls have lockers for  
backpacks.

Fancy af.

Not really.

Just search for Vance Hall

Or ask someone.

This map has the world’s  
smallest writing on it.

It’s not that bad.

Shit. What’s your room  
number again?

318

You’re so good at things

Hey, I took notes for you

I’ll reserve my judgement  
until I see them

Have you no faith?

Nope.

Then, I will eat all the  
food for dinner.

Eh. I walk to all my classes  
every day. You’ve seen the  
stairs and slopes.

Yeah. It sucks.

Just saying. Eat what you  
want.

I will.

I CAN EAT ONLY  
DESSERTS??

Can? Yes.

Should? No.

…I guess

Lol. Jk. Go nuts.

Holy shit. Have you seen  
theses sandwiches?

They look so good.

I have not.

And you’re welcome to try  
them.

THEY’RE SO GOOD.

Hahahahaha.

Your mom is making a great  
dinner.

This sandwich is better

Bran is staring at me a lot?

Yeah, maybe avoid him.

Why?

I’ll tell you later

He keeps asking who I’m texting

Say that it’s you.

“Shireen”

Isn’t it weird that you’d be  
texting me?

No?

This is a normal thing that  
we do.

But he doesn’t know that.

Bran does not get to know  
EVERYONE i talk to.

That’s weird.

Okay then.

Why was Bran staring so  
much?

WTF

What?

YOUR ROOMMATE IS  
ALYS??

Yes?

Do you know her?

She’s my cousin.

But like, super distant.

Okay. Don’t be weird around  
her.

THIS IS WEIRD

STOP IT

I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING

JUST STOP

I told her I had to do  
homework  
UH.

What are you doing?

On your computer.

Staring at the log in screen

. . . . . . . .

Do you want my password?

Uhhhhhhhh

Is that weird?

Like… too personal?

You are literally in my body  
right now

You have a point

I swear I won’t look through  
anything.

I’ll just play cool math games  
or something

rS114b58

In fairness, would you like  
access to my laptop?

I’m not going to find anything  
…unsavory on it, am I?

Glad to see how you think  
of me.

Really gives me the vote of  
confidence

I don’t know what teenage  
boys get up to

stonewolf757

We clearly have a different  
idea of what makes a secure  
password

Would you have guessed  
it?

Honestly, I would have gone with  
something like “Shaggydog4”

Wow

Thank you for the internet  
access. I can check my classes.

You’re welcome

Where are your headphones?

Desk. Top drawer.

Thanks.

What are you listening to?

Nothing. Just easier than  
trying to ignore Alys.

She talks a lot.

We’re roommates. And  
friends. She’s nice.

Yes, but I can’t be saying  
things to her. I might  
slip up.

That wouldn’t be good.

Exactly.

So. Are you going to keep  
avoiding telling me what  
bran wanted?

Yes

Why?

Because it’s weird.

Weird how?

He’s testing a theory

On?

the switching

And?

I’m his only test subject

I see

Am I allowed to ask about  
said theory?

I think it’s safer to stay away

I’ll tell you later.

How much later?

3 years?

Why three years?

I figured by then we might  
meet up.

You want to tell me in person?

Let’s go with that.

You don’t want to tell me?

It would be better to wait

Trust me

On the off chance that we met,  
would you tell me?

Yes

So if I just appeared in  
Winterfell one day…?

I suppose I would have  
to tell you.

You know. I’m halfway  
closer than before

I know

It’s still a long trip

Only 8 hours.

By car

True.

It’s like a full day by train

You looked it up?

I was curious.

Do you guys have a sleep  
schedule?

Not really.

I might become “sleepy”  
soon

For convenience?

Obviously

Do you want me to finish  
your homework?

Is anything due tomorrow?

I don’t think so?

You don’t keep a schedule.

Eh. Just leave it.

I should probably actually  
learn chemistry

It’s super fun

Fun is not the word I was  
thinking of

But I’m right

Meh

You’re just a science nerd

Jealous

Hahaha.

No.

Did you like the snacks?

Did you intentionally pick my  
favorites?

I thought you’d appreciate  
them

I do.

I was even kind enough to  
leave some for you.

Aww.

You can eat them if you want.

I already brushed your teeth

That sounds weird

True, though

Are you going to actually sleep?

Probably not?

I’m not sleepy

I see

Are you?

I’m still trying to figure out  
what Bran’s theory is

Stop trying

Seriously

Just tell me

Hey, how do you feel about  
pancakes?

They’re okay?

Syrup? Butter?

You’re trying to distract me

Is it working?

Not really

But I can play along.

How many tricks did you  
teach shaggy?

?

What are you talking about?

I didn’t teach him anything

Liar

I just gave him lots of treats  
and pets

And I let him sleep in your  
bed with me

You’re spoiling him

And lying

I am

To both

Shaggy know all the tricks

And he loves me

Because he thinks you’re  
me. We’ve been over  
this.

One day, I will meet your  
dog, and you will see that  
I’m right.

You’re going to be  
disappointed

Am not

Rickon?

Yeah?

I think I’m going to go  
to bed now.

Alright.

Goodnight, Shireen.

Goodnight, Rickon.

Sleep well.

 

#

 

Shireen:

Hey, check your mailbox.

Rickon:

My actual mailbox?

Obviously.

It’d be weird for me to hide  
things here for you and tell  
you about them when we’re  
normal.

I have a package?

I didn’t order anything

Happy Birthday

How did you know it’s my  
birthday?

It’s nearly been a year of this

You think I haven’t tried to  
figure out your birthday?

What’d you get me?

Open the box.

Really?

It’s a toy for Shaggydog.

:D

You’re ridiculous.

You’ll get something else, too.

It must not have arrived yet.

What is it?

You’ll see :P

Just tell me

No

Please?

No

Pretty please?

Be patient

Absolutely not

Oh my gods.

Anyway, you’re the first  
person to tell me happy  
birthday, so that’s nice

You’re joking

Parents are out of town

Can’t find Bran in the  
house

I’ve been abandoned on  
my birthday

No way

It’s already three

Shall I send pictures of the  
empty house?

:(

Do you want me to take  
the train up and visit?

Then you won’t be alone?

You’ll get here in two days  
and miss class

Besides, a lot of trains aren’t  
running.

It’s the snowpocalypse

It would give me time to  
study for finals

You can do that better in  
your room anyway

Besides, Riverrun will get  
snow, too

REALLY?

Hasn’t it already?

It just looks like mush on the  
ground.

Apparently, we’re having a  
hot season

Gross

It’s disgusting

Well, it’s cold up here, so  
brace yourself for the next  
switch

Noted

How are you spending your  
birthday then?

Uh. I slept in

Had toast

Couldn’t order pizza because  
snow.

Oodles of fun

:(

You stop that.

This is normal.

I refuse to accept this.

There’s nothing you can do  
about it.

I will find a way.

Good luck

 

Shireen.

What did you do?

Nothing.

Why?

I have magically obtained a  
pizza.

Have you?

Yes.

And it was already paid for

How nice of someone.

Plus, they’re scrawled an  
elaborate happy birthday  
on the box and the delivery  
guy actually sang to me.

What an experience!

Great service!

You have amazing friends.

:D

Shireen.

Yes?

Thank you.

You’re welcome.

How’d you get someone to  
deliver in the snow?

I called every place in the area  
to see who was open.

And asked how much I needed  
to tip so they could get it to  
you.

How much was it?

Once I told them it was your  
birthday, they were very  
cooperative

You’re ridiculous.

Did you check your mail?

I was distracted by pizza

You even got my favorite  
toppings

Acceptable

When you finish eating, see  
if your present came.

Okay.

Shaggydog loves the toy,  
btw.

He hasn’t torn it apart yet.

Which is really saying  
something for him.

I figured both of your days  
should be good.

Thanks.

You’re welcome :)

Why did you get me a  
jacket?

It’s a coat.

And you need a new one

I do?

The other one doesn’t keep  
me warm!

Hahahahahaha.

Besides, isn’t it nice?

It’s the nicest thing I own

How does it fit?

Surprisingly well.

Do you like it?

Yes. Thank you.

You’re welcome.

I figured it’d be helpful, too.

Because snow?

Yup

Are you going to wear it?

Obviously. It’s cold.

How does it look?

You just want a picture  
of me.

Ugh. Forget it.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

You’re a meanie.

One attachment.

So what do you think?

You look nice!

I feel like you’re a little  
obligated to say that

You know

Because sometimes  
you’re me.

I would not lie to you.

You’ve done it before

Rickon.

Come on.

Alright.

It is a nice jacket.

It’s a coat.

I’m not going to call it that.

Why not?

I won’t remember.

Omg

It’s true

You’re the worst.

Is that why you got me  
three birthday presents?

One wasn’t even yours.

Sure, it wasn’t.

It’s wasn’t!

It was for Shaggydog!

You mean, my dog.

MY dog.

Emphasis on the MY

AS IN ME

I’m leaving now.

I’m just teasing

Goodnight, Rickon.

You don’t have to leave

I do if you’re going to act like  
a child

Uhh

Hate to break it to you

But I am a child

Freshly 16 :)

Isn’t that the age of consent?

Is it?

Oh, I don’t know.

Really?

Do you want me to look it up?

Kinda sounds like you  
already did.

;)

And this is why I’m leaving

Night

Hope the rest of your birthday  
goes well.

:P

Goodnight, Shireen.

Goodnight, Rickon.

 

#

 

Rickon:

I cannot find a trick that  
Shaggydog doesn’t know

Shireen:

Good.

Also, can you just send your  
dog to me?

Please?

Thanks.

??

Why do you want him?

I need a puppy.

He’s not really a puppy.

Whatever. I just want to  
hug a dog.

Will a puppy emoji work?

No. :(

You okay?

I’m just not having a good  
day.

Wanna talk about it?

Not really?

Will distracting you help?

Maybe…

!

Do you want videos of  
Shaggydog?

……yes.

I will send you snapchats.

Are you also going to  
disappear?

Not if you don’t want me to.

I’d prefer the company.

Want me to call?

Then, how will you snapchat?

Speaker phone exists.

But we can just text.

Okay

So history is ridiculous.

We played a game today

But it was entirely trivia

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO  
REMEMBER THE YEARS OF  
ANYTHING?

It’s not that hard.

Do you know the year of  
Aegon’s Conquest?

1 AC.

That’s literally the easiest  
one.

Fine. When was the Doom  
of Valyria?

110BC?

That’s not Westerosi  
history.

Is there an easier way to  
remember this?

(And it was 114)

Not really.

Ugh

What was the game?

Like… Sudden death trivia

We had terrible questions  
to answer.

And if we got them wrong,  
we were “killed” and could  
be “revived” if our team  
thought we would know  
an answer later.

How long were you dead?

Until an old Stark question  
popped up.

Hahahahaha.

Did you know the answer?

No.

HAHAHAHAHA.

They act like I lived through  
Robert’s Rebellion.

Was not alive.

Neither was anyone else.

They just paid attention in  
class.

Apparently not, if they were  
trying to ask me

Fair point

On the plus side, my Braavosi  
teacher thinks I’m amazing

You’re kind of ridiculous at  
the language

I can do the Old Tongue, too.

Really?

Yeah, my babysitter taught  
me

That sounds adorable

We did it to annoy my family.

How so?

I wasn’t huge on talking. She  
thought I was just nonverbal  
until I started picking up the  
old tongue and speaking  
fluently

So… you just didn’t want  
to talk to your family?

Yup

And you learned three  
languages to do it?

That just happened along  
the way.

Do you know any other  
languages I should know  
about?

Not fluently

Partially?

Bits of Valyrian and Dothraki

Really?

Some Dornish

Why?

They were in movies.

I picked up a few phrases.

You’re mad

It wasn’t that hard

Uh huh.

Can you write in any of them?

My phone doesn’t not have  
the runes for the old tongue

But you can?

Sure

Slightly better in Braavosi.

Slightly? You helped me with  
homework.

It’s phonetic.

Is there no eye-rolling emoji?

Apparently not.

Terrible.

So why the bad day?

Cramps

Sorry.

Wanna switch places?

Yes.

But we had a switch a few  
days ago.

It’ll be a while until the next.

I guess.

But know that I would if I  
could plan them.

They’re really bad this time.

I can take a day for you,  
though.

And help out.

More like be miserable for 24  
hours.

But it would help.

You’re right.

What you help you right  
now is to fall asleep

Really?

I don’t think anyone  
remembers pain when  
they’re asleep

I guess

But we’re talking

We can talk tomorrow.

Knock yourself out

I hear benadryl helps.

Hahaha.

Okay then

Goodnight, Shireen.

Goodnight, Rickon.

 

#

 

Shireen:

WHAT DID YOU DO?

Rickon:

You think I did this?

Well, you mentioned it

And I was serious about it

I’m so sorry.

How long have you been up?

Long enough to have Alys  
bring me painkillers.

Did they help?

Only a little bit.

Gods, I’m sorry, Rickon.

Don’t worry about it

it's not my first time

But it’s worse

It is

How’s the break from it?

Kind of amazing

I feel bad, though

Don’t

I asked for this

Just enjoy the painless day

Okay.

Thanks, Rickon

I didn’t make this happen

I kinda think you did

Because you were talking  
about it

That is not real science

We could try it again?

Not high on my list of things  
to try again.

I’m sorry

Stop apologizing

Jeez

Sorry

SHIREEN

.

Just try to keep away from  
Bran

He still experimenting?

Yup

Also, the snow is hell

So maybe ditch today

It’s a snow day

So you’re missing out on  
a day off

DO NOT APOLOGIZE AGAIN

UGH

Okay

Are you going to take a nap?

Uh.

After I shower.

This is a mess

It’ll look worse in the shower

Great

Hot water is nice, though

Not really a fan

Just keep it in mind, then

Alright

Uhhh

Should I use a specific towel?

No, just be careful

Okay

So I realize you are not here  
right now, but Shaggydog  
loves the snow.

He’s so cute

I’m taking a thousand  
pictures of him

You were right on the hot  
water

I almost took a nap in the  
shower

You’re going to kill me

Literally

It was so nice.

Also, it’s nice to be buried in  
your blankets

They’re so warm

I told you

I feel like being so warm is  
going to make me sick

You’ll probably be fine

Even if I get a fever?

Just take off the blanket?

But I don’t wanna

Okay then

Also, look at this picture

One attachment

It’s Shaggydog

Isn’t he cute?

Look at the snow on his snout

hahaha

He’s the best

You can post them on insta  
if you want

And just spam your followers  
with your dog?

I guess.

What about this picture?

One attachment

Now you’re taking selfies  
with him?

You guys look good together

And YOU don’t take pictures  
with him

Why would I?

Because he’s the best

I’m glad you’re enjoying  
yourself

This is the best day off ever

OMG

Look at your dog

I see him everyday

One attachment

WOMAN

Just post the pictures

And I can see them on insta

Okay, but you have to like  
them immediately

Why?

Because I would.

You’re ridiculous

I’m going to take more  
pictures first

Alright

I’m gonna take a nap

Oki doki

Sleep well

Thanks.

Enjoy the snow

 

You posted the selfie?

I hid it at the end of the post!

With a full ten pictures

Shaggydog looks good

He looks fucking majestic

How did you get him to  
pose?

Lots of cuddles and pets

And close to 300 pictures

Jeez

I’ve already transferred them  
to your computer

So your phone has space again

Thanks

But for real, isn’t it weird to  
post selfies?

No?

Everyone does it

And you posted one of me

I guess

And you’ve posted other  
pictures of yourself

that other people took

So this one is no different :P

Hahahaha

No one will know that,  
 though

I can photo credit myself?

Uh

That might be weird

True

But don’t worry about it

You look hot

I thought I would look cold

You’re so weird about social  
media

I don’t post that often

But you made me post

Confidence is key

Which you lack?

I told you

I post the pictures that other  
people take of me

And I took the picture

You’re just mad because  
you’re smiling in the picture  
and looking at the camera

And it doesn’t match your  
aesthetic

I don’t have an aesthetic

Yes, you do

It’s all moody, greyscale  
stuff

:P

Which also happens to be the  
name of the thing on my face

Really?

Yeah

Or so says my doctor

That’s a cool name

If I was feeling better I’d  
make you a insta post

About my greyscale?

Kinda

I have an idea

Well, you have to wait.

Or tell me

I’m gonna wait

I thought so

Wait, have you eaten today?

Yes, I bundled up and got  
food from that place just  
outside your dorm

What did you eat?

A burrito

Nice

Hey, are those comments  
supposed to be flirting?

The ones on your post?

Yes.

Why do they all read so  
weird?

Because they’re probably  
people from your school?

They are

So they’re also kids who  
don’t know how to flirt

Are they supposed to read  
so strangely?

Kinda?

They’re young

They don’t know what  
they’re doing

Teach them

I don’t want to reply to  
that stuff

I don’t know how to flirt

Why not?

When would I have gained  
that experience?

Didn’t you go to prom with  
edric?

We just went together

We didn’t like

Date or anything

I thought you liked him?

Not really

If you say so

He was into you, though

Whatever

The Baratheon Burn

Oh gosh

Shade from Shireen

They’re not the same  
thing

Ugh, I’m going to have  
to move for dinner

Alys will pick something  
up if you text her

Amazing

She can take my ID to get  
the food, too

Great

I’m getting really hungry

And I wanna sleep

Go to sleep

It’s still kinda early?

I guess

But you’re tired

I don’t want you to miss  
dinner

Don’t worry about it

I’ll get breakfast tomorrow

Is the pain going away?

A bit.

But I’m afraid that it will  
come back if I move

I know

Just stay in bed.

Alys will bring you food and  
you can eat it when you wake

Good plan

Goodnight, Shireen

Goodnight, Rickon

 

#

 

Shireen:

Happy anniversary!

Rickon:

Okay. I guess this counts as  
an anniversary.

Why wouldn’t it?

Isn’t that a relationship  
thing?

I would argue that this is  
a relationship

Just not in the usual definition

Are you saying that this isn’t  
what happens when you  
date someone?

I’m not going to switch bodies  
with my girlfriend?

Probably not.

Sorry to burst your bubble

Well, I guess it’s fitting that  
I’m over here today

Are you on break?

Yeah. Just enjoy the break

I went back to school early

Good thing it’s a weekend

Or else you’d have to take  
my finals again

Hahahaha.

I guess I got lucky.

Lucky how?

I’m spending the entire day  
with Shaggydog.

You’re spoiling him

He deserves it

Um, Bran is coming with me?

He can’t wheel around in  
the snow

Just go on a walk or  
something

Rickon, it’s freezing.

That’s why you bought me  
a coat?

Use it.

Rickon, you might get  
pneumonia if I go outside

Risk it.

OH MY GODS

JUST TELL ME

NO

WHY NOT

BECAUSE

That’s not a reason

Yes, it is

No

Yes

RICKON

SHIREEN

Just tell me

You don’t want to know

I can tell Bran it’s me

DO NOT

Come on

Shireen, you gotta trust me.

You trust me, don’t you?

What is this?

Aladdin?

I’m serious.

Me too

Just… let me figure out how  
to tell you.

So it’s not that weird.

Has the deadline moved?

….maybe

Maybe?

I promise that I will tell you

I just don’t want it to be  
weird.

I think it’s weird right now.

I get that

But it’d be weirder if you  
knew

How so?

Um….. it might make you  
less inclined to continue  
this thing.

Rickon, I hate to break it to  
you, but we don’t really have  
a choice in when we switch

I wasn’t talking about that

Then what were you talking  
about?

This part

We are currently switched?

I mean the talking

You think I won’t want to talk  
to you anymore?

Yes

Because of some crazy idea  
that Bran has?

Precisely

What if I promise not to?

I’m not sure I can trust that

You can’t trust me?

That’s not what I said

Then?

I just wouldn’t feel okay if you  
only kept talking to me  
because of a promise

Because you should be able  
to leave if you want

Okay…

So you want me to leave?

No

I like talking to you

So you think Bran’s idea  
will make me want to  
leave?

Maybe.

I see.

SO ANYWAY

Riverrun is weird

How so?

I thought you got more  
snow?

It’s pretty mild

I like it

You want more snow?

Well, I’m getting it

Winterfell is drowning in it

Can’t drown when it’s  
frozen

You can if you’re under it

You’re going to burrow in  
the snow?

Hahahaha.

No.

I thought so

Especially since it’s getting  
late

Very true

I’ve been cuddled in your  
bed for some time now

Where did you get this  
blanket?

Do you want one?

I’m sure we have an extra

This is way too heavy to mail

But good for the cold

Very

Shaggydog helps

He’s on my bed again isn’t  
he?

Where else is he supposed  
to sleep?

He has a dog bed

You know

Because he’s a dog

I see no correlation

That’s because you don’t  
have a dog.

Um. Yes, I do.

Shaggy is mine

You’re such a weirdo

You’re just jealous

Of my own dog?

Yes

Okay then

So how shall we end our  
anniversary?

Are we supposed to do  
something?

I was hoping you might tell  
me something.

Not today

:(

Don’t do that

Let’s just enjoy this

If you say so

Good

Bedtime, then?

Probably

Then, I’ll talk to you  
tomorrow

Goodnight, Shireen

Night, Rickon

(not a good one?)

ughhhh

please?

Goodnight, Rickon.

:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I'm doing a Rickeen Giveaway over on my blog! If you're interested in entering, head on over and check it out!](https://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/179523537716/rickeen-giveaway)


	7. Chapter 7

Avoiding eye contact with Bran was extremely difficult. They had been in the car for half the day and Rickon wished that he could escape. Right now, he knew that they only reason Bran wasn’t bombarding him with questions was because their parents were also in the car. Rickon found it hard to be thankful for that circumstance. He was glad that he could keep his headphones in, not bothering to interact with his family on this ride. Once they reached their destination, he knew he’d had to fend off Bran. Rickon was going to put that off as long as he could.

“Lysa said she’s not coming,” Catelyn said from the front seat.

“Why not?” Ned asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Robert’s come down with something.” Catelyn scrolled through her phone, frowning.

Bran snorted. “He can spend a weekend alone,” he mumbled, “especially since he’s twenty-one.”

Rickon turned his music up louder. If there was one thing he didn’t want to hear his family discussing, it was his weird Aunt Lysa and her freakish son. Robert might have been normal if she hadn’t been so weird, but that time was long past. He was also doing his level best to keep ignoring Bran.

Every few minutes, Bran shot him pointed looks. Rickon had a smattering of text messages from his brother, as well. He was ignoring all of them. As long as they were in a car with their parents, Bran wouldn’t bring it up. For the first time in his life, Rickon was planning on staying near his parents for the day.

He was already regretting it. Today was not going to be fun. He could chance the safety of being around his siblings, but he knew it’d be too easy for Bran to corner him there. He’d just have to put up with silently hiding near his parents for the next few days and hope he could convince his uncle to let him sleep outside. Or up a very steep tower.

Rickon stared out the window, reading the upcoming road signs. He didn’t know why he kept reading them. Every time he read “Riverrun” and saw the mileage decreasing, he felt nauseous. They’d be there in less than an hour now. Even though Rickon knew they were going to visit family and he’d likely be busy with them the whole time, it didn’t change the fact that he was now the closest he had ever been to Shireen.

In the three years of switching bodies with her, they had never even come close to meeting. Generally, his family only visited during the summers, when Shireen was back with her dad. While she was in university, he was in school. Rickon had tried to bridge this distance. Despite his parents’ warnings otherwise, he had applied to the same university as Shireen last year. He hadn’t told anyone about it until he was accepted, but without a significant scholarship, there was no way he could afford to attend. His parent had sent five children to college now, and after Robb, the rest of them had opted for community college to help that financial burden. Rickon held onto that small shred of hope for a long time, but as much as he wanted to meet Shireen, he knew better then to put himself into that kind of debt.

Now, though, his family was abruptly taking a trip down to Riverrun during the spring. It wasn’t going to be a very pleasant family meeting because his grandfather was in the hospital, but Rickon’s thoughts were elsewhere. He saw his grandfather once a year. He didn’t know him at all. The only thing his brain had the capacity to think about was how close he’d be to Shireen without getting the chance to meet her.

Despite Rickon knowing that it wouldn’t happen, he couldn’t help the spark of hope. He was eighteen now. Sure, that meant Shireen was twenty-one, but they had kept up continuous communication these three years. Every year, they sent each other birthday presents, Christmas present, random gifts, some complimentary meals, and left surprises for each other.

The switches had dwindled to once every five weeks before they started becoming completely random. Sometimes, they waited over six weeks between switches. Once, it had been two days in a row. Shireen hated this data. She had even made Rickon sync her calendar so she could analyze what was happening and how it affected their future switches. But she couldn’t make sense of it.

Rickon was happy to let it happen. He really liked spending time as Shireen now. It was an interesting opportunity to learn more about her and do nice things for her. Besides, he couldn’t ignore the fact that he definitely had a crush on her. It might have been just the three years of near-constant communication, or how easy it was to make up after dumb fights because they had to ask the other where they hid something. It also had a little bit to do with the fact that Rickon spent his time as her wondering what it would be like to hold her in his own arms. But Shireen was honestly his best friend now. If anything, he just wanted to see what her so he could thank her properly for everything she had done for him.

His phone lit up with a message:

Shireen:  
When will my roommates learn  
that I am not the type to go to  
parties?

Never?

UGH.

It feels like it.

You’d think that after the  
first disaster they’d stop  
inviting me.

Tell them you have plans

I did.

But they keep insisting

I can tell them off for you  
the next time we switch

I can deal with it

Going to parties that you  
hate?

I do not hate them

Really?

Because I remember a few  
past midnight messages  
saying otherwise

Even drunk guys don’t want  
to look at me.

It’s not pleasant.

I thought you said that guy  
in your lab asked you out?

You want me to go out with  
him?

I’m just saying that you have  
options.

So what? I ask him out just  
so my roommates will stop  
asking me to parties?

Shir, you can do whatever  
you want

I was just pointing out  
that you said there was  
a guy who was interested

Yeah, one.

I’ll take you out.

But not like a date.

Why not?

Because we’d have to get  
to know each other first

Shireen, you know me better  
than anyone

Wouldn’t it be weird for our  
first meeting to be a date?

People do it all the time

I guess Bran thinks it’s a  
good idea

I should not have told you  
that

Hahahaha.

It didn’t change anything

I guess

Unless you’re lying

Well, we won’t know until  
we meet

True

Unless you’ve suddenly fallen  
in love with me and want to  
get married.

You’re ridiculous.

Not if we’re soulmates.

You know what. You were  
right.

You shouldn’t have told me  
that.

THAT’S WHAT I WAS  
TELLING YOU.

But nooooo, you just had to  
insist.

It was my birthday present.

I got you a different present

I didn’t know about that

I TOLD YOU ABOUT IT

Yeah, okay.

So what do I do about this  
silly party?

Whatever you want

I’m not the boss of you

Today

What?

You’re sometimes the boss  
of me

Um, no.

Um, yes

When you’re literally in my  
body

Haha. No.

If I could control you then, I  
wouldn’t have so many damn  
 posts on my Instagram

They get a lot of likes!

And a lot of really REALLY  
uncomfortable comments

They give me a good laugh

You do it on purpose.

“OMG, Rickon, you look so  
hot here!”

“Thanks”

HAHAHAHAHAHA

It is on purpose.

I mostly post Shaggydog.

No one needs that many  
selfies

You take that many of me!

Because you look nice!

You don’t even put makeup  
on

Because you don’t need it

;P

Are you flirting with me?

Just making an observation

Uh huh.

So what’re you going to do  
instead of partying?

Get drunk at home?

No.

I got my roommates to stop  
by promising to do brunch  
with them tomorrow.

Nice

Food is good

It is.

And way better than beer

Beer is nice, too

That is a HUGE lie, Rickon  
Stark.

It grows on you

And makes you act silly

. . .

That was one time

It was AT LEAST three times

. . . . . . .

Do I need to go back and  
screenshot those messages?

Cause I can find them.

I’ve got a free night

It wasn’t even that bad

It was funny, though

Tell me again about how  
much you didn’t want  
those girls trying to kiss  
you.

You’re the worst

Not as bad as them  
apparently.

You find someone as wasted  
as those girls, and you’ll feel  
the same

This is why I don’t do parties.

To be fair, a good reason.

 

They hit a bump in the road, and Rickon looked up from his phone. Even though they didn’t do this drive much, Rickon knew what the bump meant. There were now off the main road to get up to his grandfather’s massive house. The sun was on the horizon, and Rickon was not looking forward to the night.

“Edmure and Roslin have made dinner for us,” Catelyn said, “so stop complaining.”

Rickon hadn’t voiced or heard any complaints, so he could only assume that it was his dad. After all, they usually picked up food on their way in. Rickon just hoped that Sansa had made it to Riverrun before them and helped out. Roslin simply didn’t know how to cook fish. Sansa could at least make it edible. Rickon breathed a sigh of relief when he saw several of his siblings’ cars in the driveway. Robb’s new girlfriend also knew how to cook.

As soon as they were parked, Rickon grabbed as many bags as he could and carried them to the front door. His parents could get Bran out of the car. He needed clearer space away from his brother. Rickon pounded on the front door until Arya opened it.

“Dude, we saw you coming,” she said, frowning at him. “No need to knock so loud.”

“Well, you could have opened the door,” Rickon shot back. “Has anyone claimed the tower?”

“Robb did.” Arya made a face. “Apparently, Margaery doesn’t live enough like a princess at her own castle.”

Rickon shrugged. “At least she can cook.”

Arya led Rickon into the house, nodding. “Honestly, you don’t want to see what Roslin was doing before we got here.”

“You came with Sansa?” Rickon asked.

“Who do you think fixed dinner?”

Rickon left the bags in the entryway and headed into the kitchen. He ran out of snacks hours ago. This would be a warm welcome. A basket of dinner rolls caught his eye, and he snatched one. It was still warm in his mouth. Rickon was chewing slowly when someone hit the bread out of his hand. Reflexively, Rickon flicked a hand out to catch it.

“No snacking before dinner!” Margaery told him.

Rickon swallowed quickly. “I’ve been in a car for ten hours,” he said, waving the roll at her. “I’ll eat when I want.”

Sansa appeared at his elbow. “How was the ride?” she asked. “Come and sit down. I’ll make you a plate.”

Rickon followed his sister to the table, but not without turning around to stick his tongue out at Margaery. He took his seat and Robb slid him a soda. “The ride was fine,” Rickon told them. “I slept for most of it.”

His family came into the room before he got his food, so Rickon tolerated all the greetings and pleasantries while sneaking bites. He was relieved when they finally sat down to eat. Then, Rickon took his time, and made sure that he wouldn’t be left at the table with Bran. He hung out much longer than he would have ordinarily, but he was still put in the same room with his brother at the end of the night. Rickon dragged out his time showering and getting ready for bed once Bran was set, but Bran managed to get in a word before they fell asleep.

“Did you tell her that we’re here?” Bran asked.

Rickon rolled his eyes, even though Bran couldn’t see him in the dark. “No offense, but I don’t think she really cares that you’re here.”

“But you’re here.”

“Here to visit grandpa in the hospital and accompanying Mom and Dad while they settle his will,” Rickon pointed out. “Not exactly time to go out.”

“Don’t you think she’d want to know?”

“When I can’t make time to go visit?” Rickon mulled it over. He’d want to know if Shireen was ever in Winterfell. Other than the fact that he wanted to show her around, just the thought of having Shireen physically close by was nice. He’d find a way to let her know tomorrow.

“I guess you have a point.” Bran was quiet for a minute. “What if you see her, though?”

Rickon sighed. If that happened, he hoped he’d be alone. He didn’t really want anyone to witness him meeting someone he’d be dreaming about for years. Shireen wouldn’t be expecting it either. He didn’t know how she’d react. He didn’t even know how he’d react. It was better to assume that it wouldn’t happen.

#

The entire family went out for breakfast the next morning. Their waitress paled when they asked for a table to seat eleven, so it took them a while to actually sit down in the fairly crowded restaurant.

Rickon stuck near his sisters to minimize the chances of Bran bringing up Shireen again. He didn’t need to be thinking about that. He also didn’t know how to tell Shireen he was in Riverrun. He didn’t want to disappoint her. He had to tell her something.

 

Good morning.

Hey, you’re up early.

Yeah, we’re doing family  
stuff today

Really?

Yeah.

You’ll never guess where  
I am.

With your family?

I meant the actual place.

 

“Who are you texting?” Sansa asked, leaning over.

Rickon shoved his phone away. “Just responding to a message from last night about the game,” he said. “My friend has tickets for tonight.”

“Sucks to be in Riverrun then,” Arya said. Her pancakes were drowning in syrup.

Rickon shrugged. He’d have to text Shireen back later.

They had breakfast in moderate chaos, with syrups being passed all around the table. He listened to everyone catching up about everything and tritely responded to the few questions directed at him. Rickon was just glad to be so far from Margaery, who was dominating the conversation around her. After a while, the adults broke off to discuss important matters regarding Grandpa Tully.

Rickon picked at his breakfast slowly until everyone was finished. They ended up taking over the entire sidewalk while they split off into groups.

“We have to go take care of some things with the lawyer,” Catelyn said, “and we’ll meet up at the hospital in a couple hours. Feel free to walk around and shop. Get something for your grandfather.”

Sansa responded well to this, running off quickly. Bran asked Rickon to accompany him to a bookshop, but Rickon made up something about seeing an interesting store he wanted to visit. Arya ended up accompanying Bran, and Rickon headed off in the opposite direction to avoid being stuck with Robb and Margaery.

When he was a good distance from his family, he pulled out his phone.

 

Still in bed?

At your brother’s?

Wherever you are, I hope  
you brought Shaggydog.

Rickon?

Why did you make me guess  
if you were going to vanish?

I did not make you guess

You implied it

I suppose so

Hold on

Gotta disappear for a bit

Brunch with the roomies  
downtown

 

Rickon’s heart skipped a beat. He was currently in downtown Riverrun, which meant that Shireen was within walking distance. If he wanted to, he could walk into wherever she was having breakfast right now.

That wouldn’t be fair, though. Rickon knew she was busy with her friends. She had planned this. She was busy. She didn’t even know he was close by. Besides, if Shireen was just about to have breakfast, it’d be a while until she finished, and Rickon had no idea when he was expected at the hospital. Shireen probably also had plans afterward. They schedules simply didn’t align.

Rickon aimlessly wandered through downtown Riverrun. He crossed streets at random, thinking of a way to pleasantly surprise Shireen. His pocket buzzed. Rickon was expecting some sort of notification from Twitter, but he found another message from Shireen.

 

I just saw someone who looks  
EXACTLY like Bran.

Really?

Yeah, it was weird

And I don’t mean that he  
was on a wheelchair

Shireen.

Yes?

 

Rickon shut his eyes. He didn’t know how to type the following message. It should have been easy, but Rickon really did not want Shireen to know how close they were. He stared down at his phone, stepping sideways to get out of the way of pedestrians. The words were easy enough to type. Rickon had them sitting on the screen. He just couldn’t press the _send_ button. He could live with the disappointment of knowing how close they were, but he couldn’t let Shireen know. He didn’t know what he’d do if she found out after the fact. He should just tell her now and get it over with.

 

Someone here is wearing the  
same coat I got you!

 

He shook himself, deleted the message, typed it out again, and deleted it again. He was halfway through writing it out again when he got another message from Shireen.

 

Turn around.

 

Rickon blinked down at his phone. He furrowed his brow at the two words. Surely, the message must have been meant for someone else. Shireen was probably just trying to find one of the friends she was with. His heart was beating out of his chest. What if it was for him? He swallowed hard and spun around.

Across the intersection, a small girl with dark hair was staring at him. Rickon recognized her face. He had seen it in the mirror more times than he could count. He knew that beneath that thick, black hair, he’d find a splotch of greyscale on her left cheek that extended down to her neck. She stood still as a statue, her phone still in her hands. After a moment, her phone slipped from her hands, clattering to the floor. Shireen didn’t even glance down at it.

Rickon stepped toward her, intending to pick up her phone for her. He was quickly reminded that he did not have permission to cross when a car drove past. Licking his lips, Rickon waited impatiently for the light to change. Across the way, Shireen left her phone on the floor. Her jaw had dropped slightly, and she looked like she was hugging herself.

The instant the light changed, Rickon raced across the street and picked her phone off the ground. He reached forward and slid it into her pocket. Then, he met her clear, blue eyes. They were slightly glassy, moving about to look over him.

“Hi, Shireen.” Rickon gave her a small smile. “Um, I’m in Riverrun.”

The corners of her mouth turned down slightly. She took a tiny step toward him. “Are you real?”

Rickon nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I think I am.”

Shireen surged forward, wrapping her arms around his middle. Rickon returned the hug, pressing her into him as much as he could without squeezing too hard. Still, he was certain that he was hurting Shireen. She didn’t complain, though. After a few moments, she started shaking against him, and Rickon heard a sob.

He pulled away gently. “Hey, are you okay?”

Shireen nodded vigorously. Her arms left him so she could wipe her eyes. “Yeah,” she said. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

“Are you busy?” Rickon asked.

Shireen let out a small huff of laughter. “No,” she said. “Not anymore.”

Rickon slowly licked his lips. “Can I show you something?”

She nodded, and Rickon took her hand. He led her through the streets of downtown Riverrun. Now, Rickon knew what he was looking for. He had passed the abandoned building a few times during his random wandering, and he was certain that he could get in with little effort. The front door was locked, but the side one pulled open with a little bit of pressure. Shireen’s grip on his hand tightened.

“Don’t worry,” Rickon told her. “It’s recently abandoned. My mom used to bring us to movies here.”

“Why are we going in?” Shireen asked.

Rickon shook his head. “Because this city is currently swarming with my siblings.”

Shireen took a few quick steps to walk closer at his side. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes.” Rickon led her into an empty theatre.

“Why?”

Rickon stopped walking, and Shireen nearly crashed into him. He steadied her by the shoulders, staring down into her eyes. Even in the low light, he could still make out the bright blue of them. Rickon searched her face before raising a hand to her greyscale and pressing his palm against the rough skin of her cheek. Shireen flinched away for a moment before gently leaning into his hand. He felt a small drop of water hit his hand.

She was crying again. Rickon stretched out his thumbs to brush the tears away from her eyes. He repeated the motion a few times until the skin there was dry. Rickon bent down slightly to press his forehead against hers.

“That’s why.”

Shireen took a step into him, pressing her face against his chest. Rickon let his arms fall around her shoulders, keeping her in place. He pressed his cheek on the top of her head. They stood against each other for a full minute until a phone vibrated.

“Do you think that was important?” Rickon asked.

Shireen shook her head. She raised her hands and carefully undid the buttons keeping his coat in place. When she could open it up, Shireen moved into the space there, pressing herself against his warm torso. Her arms went around his back, holding him tight against her.

After a while, Rickon let out a heavy sigh. Shireen looked up at him. A question was written clear on her face. Rickon shook his head. He nudged her toward the seats, putting up a few armrests so they could sit together. He needn’t have bothered. Shireen immediately sat in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Rickon lifted a hand to her waist, feeling the curve of it under his fingers. He leaned his head against hers.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in Riverrun?” Shireen whispered.

“I tried to,” Rickon told her. He brushed her hair away from her face. He was just looking for reasons to touch her, but the view was nice. “I couldn’t find the words. And we’re here for family stuff.”

“Family?”

“My grandpa lives here,” Rickon said. “He’s in the hospital.”

Shireen squeezed him tighter. “I’m sorry.”

Rickon almost laughed. “I’m not,” he said. “I don’t even know him. He’s been out of it for so long. And without it, I wouldn’t have gotten to see you.”

“How is it?” Shireen asked.

“Riverrun? About the same as I remembered.”

Shireen pouted at him.

Rickon smiled. “You’re beautiful, Shireen,” he brushed her hair back again, watching her cheek turn pink. “Gods, I’m going to have to find a way to stay here longer.”

Shireen sat up slightly. Even on his lap, she had to stretch slightly to meet his eyes. She pressed a hand directly over his heart. She pressed it there for a while, before settling back on his shoulder. “You’re not even that excited.”

“Um, I almost ran into traffic to get to you,” Rickon said.

Shireen reached over and grabbed his hand. She pressed his palm over her own heart. Rickon bit his tongue hard. He didn’t want to think about where she just placed his hand. Shireen didn’t seem to find anything wrong. She just said, “My heart is pounding.”

Her hand fell away, but Rickon kept his hand on her chest. He slid it up to her neck, gently caressing her smooth skin. With his thumb, he pressed her jaw up to see her better.

“What?” she asked. Her lips were still parted, and Rickon knew he was staring. He didn’t stop.

“Shireen, I want to kiss you,” Rickon said. He glanced up to her eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t see her rejection there.

Shireen glanced down to his mouth. “What’s stopping you?”

Rickon leaned toward her, stopping before their lips could touch. “Consent.”

“Oh, you have it.” Shireen closed their distance. Her lips were soft and warm against his, and Rickon worked hard to stop the moan from coming out of his mouth. Already, his breath was coming short. He pulled her closer, dragging her body against his. Rickon couldn’t even fathom how this was possible. He didn’t know how he could have spent so many days in her body without ever realizing what it would be like to actually kiss her. He had imagined it many times, but he was incredibly wrong.

Shireen wasn’t shy against him, as he had expected. Her hands were in his hair, pulling him close as their lips moved against each other. His hand had slid far enough up her back that he could now feel her smooth, silky hair against his skin. The urge to get closer to her was overwhelming, especially when Shireen shifted around to tangle their legs together. Rickon was going to lose himself.

“Shireen,” Rickon mumbled against her lips. “Shireen, we have to stop.”

Shireen pulled away the smallest amount. “I don’t want to.”

“Alright.”

Rickon stretched up to kiss her again. He took his hand off her for a moment to grasp onto the seat and pull himself into a sitting position. Shireen adjusted quickly. She wrapped her legs around his back, dug her fingers deeper into his hair, and kissed him enthusiastically. Rickon returned his hands to her back, sliding under her sweater and pressing her fully against him. He stopped fighting his natural reactions and worked harder to be as close to her as possible. He ran his hands over her legs, up her sides, through her hair, and along her neck. He could feel his lips becoming swollen, but he didn’t care. He had more important things to worry about.

When Shireen started slowing down, Rickon brought his hands to her face. He stroked his fingers over her greyscale. Shireen pulled away slowly, and Rickon snuck in a few more quick kisses.

She held her arms loosely on his shoulders. “So you were flirting with me?”

“Have been for years,” Rickon said. “Thanks for noticing.”

“I thought you were teasing,” she said.

“Only a little.” Rickon gave her another quick kiss. “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d actually asked that guy out.”

Shireen giggled. She spun a finger through one of his curls. “Now, why would I do that?”

Rickon shrugged.

“Kind of a stupid thing to do when I already have my eyes on someone.”

Rickon smirked. “You’ve never had your eyes on me.”

“Sure, I have,” Shireen said. “Why do you think I posted all those pictures of you to Instagram?”

Rickon laughed, burying his face into her shoulder. He kissed her neck twice. “Hey, so I have a great idea.”

“What’s that?” Shireen stroked her fingers through his hair.

“We can share my dog.”

Shireen laughed delightfully in his arms. “That’s not fair,” she said. “I did all the work training him.”

“But he’s mine,” Rickon said. “You wouldn’t have trained him if I didn’t own him.”

Shireen hummed, sliding down to rest against his chest again. “I have a better idea.”

Rickon ran his fingers through her hair, just watching her in his arms. “What’s that?”

“You take me out on that date.”

“Today?” Rickon asked.

Shireen shrugged. “If you want.”

“I don’t know if I can do today,” Rickon started slowly, “but I promise I will take you out on dates.”

They sat together for a few more minutes, just enjoying the other’s company. Rickon didn’t expect this normalcy from being with Shireen. He thought it was going to be mostly awkward or accusatory of all the things they’ve done in the other’s body. He simply wasn’t up for it. Besides, it wasn’t worth it. He knew that he had a very limited amount of time with her, and he wasn’t going to spoil it.

The people texting him had other ideas. His phone was buzzing so much that Shireen fished it out of his pocket. She pressed her finger to his home button and frowned at the phone when it didn’t unlock. Rickon giggled, watching Shireen struggle with not having his fingerprint. After a few tries, Shireen grabbed onto his hand and pressed his thumb to the button.

“This was never a problem before,” she muttered, opening up his messages.

Rickon laughed, tracing her hairline and pushing his fingers through her hair.

“Oh.” Shireen started typing out a message on his phone.

Rickon curled his body around hers, holding his hands over her stomach and breathing in the scent of her hair. “What happened?”

“Your siblings are concerned that you haven’t responded,” Shireen said calmly. “They’re heading back to the hospital. I’m telling them that you’ll walk and meet them there.”

“I don’t wanna.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I want to stay here forever.”

Shireen twisted around to look up at him. “In the theater?”

Rickon laughed and kissed her forehead. “No, _here_ ,” Rickon said. “Right next to you. I don’t want to think about what’ll happen when I have to go.”

“Well…” Shireen settled with her arms around his shoulders. “First of all, I only have one year left in Riverrun after this.”

“I applied again,” Rickon told her, “so I can spend the year with you.”

Shireen squeezed him tighter. “But I don’t know where I’ll be after that.”

Rickon shook his head. “I can’t be away from you for another year.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Shireen sat up and looked down at him. “We’ve survived so far. We’ll still text. And call. We can meet each other halfway. Visit each other.”

Rickon looked up at her, raising his hands to brush over her jaw. “And what if I want to kiss you?”

Shireen smiled. “Then, tell me.”

“What’ll that do?” Rickon asked.

Shireen leaned down and brushed her lips against his. “I’ll know you’re thinking of me,” she said, “and that you miss me. Then, we I get to see you again, I can give you those kisses.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Rickon asked, pressing up to make their lips meet.

Shireen giggled. She relaxed against him, kissing him softly. She pulled away. “You tell me,” she said. “Are you going to wait for me?”

“As long as it takes,” Rickon blurted out.

“That’s what I thought.” Shireen kissed him quickly. “Now, come on. Let’s get your grandpa some flowers, and I’ll walk you to the hospital.”

The strangest part was that it wasn’t strange at all. There weren’t any of the awkward parts of first meetings, no uncomfortable moments of silence. It was as if they had never been apart from each other. There was no need to introduce themselves and no pressure to act in a certain way. It was just natural.

The only thing that Rickon thought might be a little out of the ordinary was how much he was making excuses to get closer to her, to brush her arm, to feel  her hair, to put an arm around her. He attributed that to the newness of having her near. Over time, he thought it could be possible that he’d find other things that would take precedence, but he was willing to wait a long while for that to come.

#

Shireen jumped onto the bed, quickly crawling over the sheets to burrow deep into the blankets. She moved directly into Rickon and pressed her face into his neck.

Rickon’s arms went around her back. He rubbed his arms over her cold skin. “I told you this was going to happen.”

“I’m cold,” Shireen said simply.

“I can feel that,” Rickon replied. “This is why I said we should stay in the blankets.”

Looking up at him through her eyelashes, Shireen pouted at him.

Rickon smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I know what will make this better.”

“You’re going to make me tea?” Shireen suggested.

“Shireen, I love you, but I am not going to leave this bed.”

Shireen rolled her eyes. She cuddled back against him and tangled their legs together. “What’s your plan, then?”

“We have a dog.”

“We do.” Shireen tapped the bed. A few seconds later, the large mass of Shaggydog climbed onto the bed with them. Shaggydog went down on Shireen’s other side, providing a new source of heat. Shireen hummed contentedly as Rickon stroked her hair.

Rickon couldn’t distinctly remember when he last switched bodies with her. It was entirely erratic now. On occasion, they’d just wake up confused while they figured out why they were looking at each other. It was only strange the first time, before they realized that they had done it numerous times before. After that, it was easy to adjust and realize that nothing had actually changed. They were with each other, contentedly living together now that they were both out of university.

The only thing Rickon couldn’t stand was the shit-eating grin on Bran’s face when Rickon introduced Shireen to the family. She played it off fine, shaking hands and hugging everyone as if she hadn’t had conversations with all of them before. Rickon pointedly ignored Bran, Jojen, and Meera as they tried to get Shireen to talk to them. He made excuses to pull her far away.

Meeting Shireen’s dad had been just a little bit weird. Rickon knew him too well. He kept stopping himself from talking about things he wasn’t supposed to know about, and Shireen quickly jumped in to save him. Rickon wasn’t at all prepared for how protective Stannis turned in Rickon’s presence. He fumbled his way through the questions, letting Shireen explain the story they decided on for how they met. He thought that he had messed it all up, but his natural attentiveness to Shireen made it so that he was doing little things for her throughout the night without realizing it. Before they left to drive home, Stannis even pulled Rickon aside to tell him that he approved of their relationship. Shireen laughed for a long time when Rickon told her, and Rickon sat confusedly until Shireen sobered up and explained that it was basically his blessing for them to get married.

Rickon rolled over to glance at his nightstand. He had a ring hidden in there, and he was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally ask her.

Shireen placed her fingers on his jaw and brought his face back to kiss him. “You look distracted.”

Rickon nodded. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Shireen asked.

“The future,” Rickon said. He held the back of her head as he kissed her deeply. Shireen giggled into his mouth. He sought out her hand and laced their fingers together. “Do you want to go on a date today?”

Shireen grinned up at him. “We went out yesterday.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

Shireen laughed and kissed him again. “Okay then. Where are we going?”

There was plenty for them to do together. Rickon had an endless amount of plans for their future together. He knew Shireen would marry him, but he wasn’t in a rush. He already had her. He could leave the ring behind for a little while longer.

“Let’s go on an adventure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to this shipweek's fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it. Shipweek shananigans will continue on my tumblr until my queue runs out, so head over there to enjoy some more content!
> 
>  
> 
> [Also, I'm doing a Rickeen Giveaway over on my blog! If you're interested in entering, head on over and check it out!](https://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/179523537716/rickeen-giveaway)


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